


The Mediator

by standardusername



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, Love/Hate, ghost!carm, inevitable ghost smut, mediator, psychic laura
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-11-09
Packaged: 2018-10-11 07:24:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 56,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10458720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/standardusername/pseuds/standardusername
Summary: Laura Hollis has a gift she didn't ask for. She is a liaison between the living and the dead, basically she can see ghosts. Laura decides she's had enough and needs a fresh start. Luckily for her, she lands her dream job and moves halfway across the country. Now there's only one problem, there's a very attractive woman living in her bedroom... unfortunately she's a ghost.Based on the mediator series I read as kid by Meg Cabot and by "based on" I'm using some concepts but this story will not follow the same storyline.





	1. A Fresh Start

Laura dragged the back of her hand across her forehead in a meager attempt to wipe away the sweat that had started to gather upon her brow. She took a gasping breath as she turned to use both hands to lug her enormous suitcase along the pavement, already weighed down by the rucksack strapped to her back, which was almost the same size as herself. The hot summer sun beat down harshly upon the city of Styria and Laura questioned for the umpteenth time in the last few minutes why she hadn’t just caught a cab from the train station instead of walking the distance to her new home.

She had quickly whipped off her jacket as she left the station, hopelessly trying to shove it into her suitcase which was already ludicrously overloaded, the jacket was left half hanging from her now partly open suitcase.

A vibration in Laura’s back pocket made her pause again, pushing her case upright so she could reach for her phone.

LaF: _Are you here yet, roomie???_

It was LaFontaine. They had been Laura’s good friend since they had lived on the same floor at university and now they would be Laura’s official new roommate.

 Laura: _Be there in 10!_

She typed out a quick reply; though if she made it there in ten it would surely be a miracle. Gauging she’d better push on, she wasn’t too far from LaFontaine’s place from what she recalled from her prior visits to see them in Styria. 

This was finally it, a fresh start. Laura had just acquired a new job as a reporter at Silas, a newspaper here in Styria, a dream job of sorts for her. She was out from under her father’s watchful eye once more and best of all, she knew exactly two people in the whole of the city! Why was that a good thing? It meant no one dead or alive would know _anything_ about her…. or her _ability_.

She marched on, her suitcase wheels starting to squeak under the weight of its contents. Remembering the somewhat familiar roads that led to her new home, Laura took a right into a residential looking street, smiling at a friendly looking elderly woman as she past.

The rucksack on her back was starting to cripple her; Laura mentally chastised herself for bringing all of those unnecessary items with her on her first trip here. Did she really need every season of Doctor Who with her in her new place? All of those books she just couldn’t let go of?

Not too far now, she reassured herself, wiping her brow once more and pulling the collar of her thin shirt away from her neck. She paused again momentarily to catch her breath, glancing up and down the quiet road. Lots of quaint looking old houses lined this street; Laura didn’t like old houses, too much history lay beyond their doors.

A figure caught her eye across the road, a man leaning up against a tree, mumbling to himself.

Laura sucked in a breath when she noticed the telltale unnatural glow that surrounded this man. She grasped hurriedly at her suitcase handle; she most certainly did not have time for this!

Pulling her luggage along quickly and peering back once again at the man, she must have drawn attention to herself as he was looking at her now with interest. Laura grimaced as she made blatant eye contact with him, turning and picking up the pace in an attempt to flee.

She was not doing this anymore, she had promised herself. This was a fresh start, a new life!

“Wait! Wait a second!” Laura heard a voice yell behind her; she ignored him, hoping he’d give up. Please, Laura prayed, please leave me alone!

A snapping sound made her falter and her suitcase dipped to one side as one of the wheels gave up the fight. Not one to immediately give in; she tried to keep on, pulling madly at the heavy case.

“Please, Please just wait!” the voice said a mere few feet behind her.

Oh crap…

 Laura closed her eyes briefly and released a heavy breath; well she could hardly ignore him now, she didn’t want to do this but she wasn’t evil. 

She turned just as the fellow was reaching her, “What?” she said sharply.

The man smiled, not fazed by her demeanor, he looked older up close; she noticed he was missing one of his bottom teeth. Laura almost felt a little guilty, this guy looked sweet.

“You can see me, Miss?” he asked, looking elated.

Laura had to stop her eyes from rolling, she just nodded in defeat.

“How? How can you see me? No one ever sees me!” He laughed.

Laura wanted to run away, this wasn’t her thing anymore!

 “What do you want from me?” She asked curtly, ignoring his questions, glancing around to make sure no one was watching.

 “What do I want…? What do you mean?” He asked with a confused smile.

 Laura huffed out an exasperated breath, “You’re still here for a reason right? Something left undone, something left unsaid…. what is it? I really don’t have a lot of time,” She reached down, picking up the broken wheel from her case and glanced back down the street behind her warily.

 The man nodded slowly when she returned her gaze to his, he was staring at her with wide eyes, “Yes… well it’s my wife.”

 “Your wife, what?” Laura said, urging the gentleman on.

 “She doesn’t know, it’s buried in the yard. I buried it in the yard.” He said sadly, glancing down toward the ground.

 “It’s buried in the yard? Is that what you want me to tell your wife?” She said hopefully. If that was all then this was an easy case, maybe she would help him.

 He smiled again; he looked like he might even cry, although Laura was almost certain he wasn’t able to. “Yes, could you please?” He asked a little desperately.

She smiled at him then, she had been a little harsh. Just one time, one good deed and then no more, she decided. A one time deal.

“Where is your wife?” She asked, trying to give off a friendlier air.

“We live down here…” he said, urging for her to follow, “Well…” he turned back to face her, “She lives down here...” he added, sadly.

Laura offered the fellow a sad smile, and moved to follow him, at a slow pace, as her suitcase really did not want to follow. 

“What’s your name, sir?” Laura asked, falling into step beside him.

“Peter, my name is Peter.” He met her gaze; “It’s so strange… talking to someone, having an actual conversation with someone again.” He said merrily, “It’s been so long, who are you? How can you see me?” 

“I’m Laura and well… it’s sort of what I do…” she said with a shrug.

 “What I _did_!” She added quickly, “Not anymore, which is why…. when we’re finished here, Peter, you can’t tell any of your ghostly friends that you saw me or that I spoke to you. Promise me, okay?” Laura held out her pinky finger towards the gentlemen as they walked.

He chuckled warmly at her and raised his pinky towards hers, his hand giving off an ethereal glow; their pinky fingers met and Peter looked momentarily surprised. 

Laura shrugged with a smile, “Didn’t think you could touch me?”

“No, I guess not…” He responded in consideration.

“Oh, you can, you’re real enough to me, Peter. I can’t even count the amount of times I’ve been attacked by the dead. It’s a rough business.”

“Here, it is,” He pointed at a little house, with a cute porch, loads of potted plants were dotted around, it looked very pleasant and well kept.

Laura stood at the gate, fiddling with the latch, ”Okay, so you want me to tell your wife that you have _buried it in the yard_ …anything else?” she said promptly.

“Err… Tell her that I love her!” Peter added, walking right through the gate and Laura rolled her eyes, lugging her suitcase through the gate behind her. 

Great, another I love you. Nothing ever changes.

She took a deep breath, preparing herself before reaching for the doorbell, as usual she didn’t know what to expect and things never usually went smoothly. She wished she didn’t have her suitcase, if she needed to run (which she occasionally did) she’d have a hard time getting away.

There was some movement beyond the door and then it was pulled open to reveal the very same elderly woman that Laura had greeted only 10 minutes previous. 

“Oh, hi.” Laura said awkwardly, giving a wave and feeling rather lame, moving to rake her sweaty hair back from her face.

“Hello again, dear. Is everything okay?” The lady said in friendly recognition.

Laura felt some immediate relief at her tone, she just hoped this lady believed her. She glanced over at Peter who had moved to stand next to her and he nodded so Laura continued.

“Your husband-” she gestured towards him even though she was well aware this lady could not see him. “-has asked me to tell you that it’s _buried in the yard_.”

The lady frowned, “I think you have the wrong house, my dear, my husband is no longer with us,” she said with a sad smile.

“Oh, I know that,” Laura added quickly before the woman had the chance to close the door, “Peter wanted me to tell you, it’s buried in the yard.”

The elderly lady frowned and paused for a moment before responding, “That’s not funny, Miss, why would you- who put you up to this?” She asked with confusion. Laura hated this part.

“Maam, I _swear_ I am not lying…. I am a mediator.” Laura didn’t know why she even bothered trying to explain, this lady would have no idea what that meant.

“I don’t know who you think you are-”

“Peter, please give me something here…” Laura said, glancing at him expectantly, making the elderly woman pause, and give Laura a look as if she thought she was crazy. She must have looked foolish, holding a conversation with no one.

Peter smiled, “Tell her, her garden is still as beautiful as ever.”

Laura grimaced for a second, “I’m _not_ sayi- erm…” 

She huffed and turned to face the elderly lady; she was looking at Laura like she was unstable, like she’d love to slam the door.

”Peter says…your garden is still as beautiful as ever.” 

“My gar…” the woman paused, glancing to the floor. “Did he- is he here now?” She started to look teary eyed. Laura felt relief, she believed her.

“Yes, he’s right here,” She gestured to no one.

“Oh, Peter! Tell him- tell him I love him, that I miss him everyday!” She said, tears now beginning to stream, she was leaning heavily on the door as if she needed the support.

“He can hear you maam, he can always hear you.” Laura smiled at her. “And he loves you too, very much.”

This was always Laura’s favorite part, it almost made it all worthwhile… but she couldn’t keep this up. This was a one-time deal.

The elderly woman suddenly surged forward pulling Laura into a tight hug and preceded to cry happy tears into her shoulder. Okay… Laura very much wanted to leave now, she’d told LaF she’d be 10 minutes around 20 minutes ago.

“Well I’ll just be… going.” Laura said quietly, trying to extricate herself from the lady’s grasp.

“No! Come in, please!” She replied, pulling away with a cry.

Laura shook her head, ”Sorry ma’am but I can’t,” She gestured to her suitcase, “I’m new in town, I haven’t even made it to my new place yet.”

“Thank you! Thank you!” she lady said quickly.

“No problem,” Laura responded awkwardly, “Remember, it’s buried in the yard… whatever that is.” She started to back away, glancing towards Peter and noticing he has disappeared. Gone to a better place, Laura assumed, wishing she were able to disappear just as quickly.

Her rucksack bumped her case and she made a grab for the handle, pushing it down the path and through the open gate.

“Thank you!” The lady shouted once more.

Laura crossed over the road trying to get some distance between her and the house and continued on her way. 

*

 She stood in front of LaFontaine’s apartment building, now _her_ apartment building. She’d been here once or twice before when visiting LaF but had never really paid too much attention to the building. It looked fairly old but not ridiculously so… there shouldn’t be many _unexpected guests_ , Laura hoped timidly.

She lugged her case into the elevator and punched the button for the 5th floor, it was cooler in the building and Laura took a calming breath, she was finally home.

No ghosts in the elevator, no ghosts in the hallway, good start, she mused.

“Laura!” LaF called when they opened the apartment door, pulling her into a hug.

“Did ya get lost?” they asked, gesturing Laura into the apartment and graciously grabbing her suitcase for her. 

“I foolishly decided to walk here and my case broke, it took a little longer than I thought.” Laura said, glancing around. 

“In this heat, L? Only you.” LaF shook their head with a smile.

“Okay, so this is it!” They gestured widely with their arms, “Your new home…” and Laura giggled.

“How was your dad?” LaF said as they dragged Laura’s suitcase along towards what Laura assumed was her bedroom.

 "That suitcase is full doomsday supplies and bear spray,” Laura responded with a grin and LaFontaine chuckled. “You’d think he’d be better now considering I spent all that time away for school but alas, same old dad.”

 “He’s taking it well then.”

 “You bet.” Laura nodded.

 “…And this is your room.” They pushed open the door to reveal a nicely sized bedroom, already furnished and an already made bed.

 “Perry had a lot of fun cleaning the room for you yesterday, I don’t know where she found fresh sheets, they certainty aren’t any of mine.” LaF said, leaning the case against the bed.

 “I have some spares,” Laura murmured quietly as she took in the space. “Tell Perry thanks for me, will you?”

“You can tell her yourself, she’ll be over later for dinner, I was thinking pizza. Do you want pizza?” LaF said as if their mind was working to quickly for their mouth.

“Oh, that’s great!” Laura grinned, “Yes, can’t say no to pizza.” She nodded excitedly.

“Cool, well I’ll just leave you to get settled. Welcome, roomie!” LaF said with a smile.

“Thanks, LaF.”

“No probs, L,” they responded before pulling the door shut behind them.

Laura peered around the room once more before removing her rucksack with delight and stretching her back before perching on the end of her bed. She felt sticky with sweat; she imagined she might look akin to a tomato right now.

The sound of a car horn outside drew her attention to the window and Laura stood walking over to glance down into the street below. It was a fairly large window, accompanied by a window seat with a bluish cushion where Laura could imagine herself sitting and staring out onto the street or up at the stars or even enjoying a book.

She reached, opening the window, hoping for a cool breeze to fill the air but only feeling the dry heat of the hot summers day.

A cool shower then, Laura supposed to herself. She turned heading for her joining bathroom but paused and lugged her suitcase up onto the bed, pulling at the zips and then opening the case out.

A shriek left Laura’s mouth when she spotted a figure now lounging on her window seat, gazing out of the window.

Their head whipped around at Laura’s shout and they eyed her warily, looking more than a little surprised themselves to find someone else in the room. Laura’s mouth dropped open as she made eye contact with the woman on the window seat. She was easily the most attractive woman Laura had ever seen. The most attractive ghost she had ever seen!

Laura shook herself, she shouldn’t dwell on such things, this woman was a ghost.

“What- what are you doing here?” She asked, feeling her confidence return as she spoke.

The ghost turned to glance around her to the window as if she thought maybe Laura was referring to someone else and then met her gaze once more.

“Wait… you can see me?” The ghost stood quickly, peering at Laura with an eyebrow raised.

A perfect eyebrow, Laura noted. As she stood Laura assessed her outfit, loose fitting black tee, skintight black jeans and worn combat boots. Well…she must have died fairly recently, Laura deduced.

She cleared her throat before she spoke again, “Yes, I can see you, why are you here? Did Peter send you? Because I _told him_ not to say a word to anyone! I don’t do this anymore.”

The attractive ghost frowned, confused at Laura’s rambling and did not respond. 

“Why are you here?” Laura asked again.

“Why are _you_ here?” the ghost asked in irritated response.

“What- Why are you _here, now_ , all glowy and you know… _dead_?” Laura asked, “Why haven’t you gone to a _better place_ , heaven…or where ever you guys go.”

A smirk lit up the ghosts face, “Sweetheart, I don’t think heaven is my kinda place.”

Laura huffed and rolled her eyes, “Look, I’ve been in town for an hour and it’s already begun…why are you hanging out here in my room?”

The woman looked Laura up and down, still smiling to herself as she did so, “Maybe I like hanging out in your room,” she responded.

Laura was stunned, was this ghost actually checking her out? The ghosts leering was making her uncomfortable and she remembered the whole sweaty, needing a shower thing. A blush rising in her cheeks, a ghost should not be able to make her blush!

“Seriously?” Laura asked in an defeated tone.

“I live here,” the ghost said, matter of factly.

Laura breathed out a frustrated laugh, “No offense but don’t you actually have to be _alive_ to _live_ here?”

The ghost frowned, looking a little offended, ultimately choosing to ignore her and responding with, “Who are _you_?” The ghost took a step closer to Laura.

 “I don’t really have time to explain, I _really_ need a shower and I really need you to be _gone_ by the time I get out.” Laura said confidently, grabbing a towel from her case.

“Oh, don’t let me stop you, Cutie,” the ghost responded with another smirk.

“That is-” Laura began.

“Everything okay, L? Who are you talking to?” LaF’s voice came from the other side of the door.

Laura whipped around to face the bedroom door in surprise; she had almost forgotten that LaFontaine was in the apartment.

“Um… it’s just my dad!… on the phone!” Laura responded quickly.

“What pizza do you want?” LaF asked.

Laura looked back over the shoulder; the attractive ghost was watching her with folded arms and an amused expression.

“Um…anything LaF, I’m not picky, you know that.” She responded, keeping her eyes on the ghost.

“Okay, shrimp and tuna pizza all round then!” LaF answered, Laura could hear the smile in their voice.

Laura grimaced and she almost gagged, turning and heading straight for the door.

“No!” Laura opened the door to LaFontaine who was chuckling on the other side.

“I’ll just have pepperoni, please.” She smiled at them. 

”Alright, L, but don’t be looking some of my seafood pizza when it gets here…” They said as they strolled off towards the living area. 

“Trust me, I won’t,” Laura said as she closed her door, turning to face the room.

She was still there, Laura let out a sigh, the unnatural glow surrounding her and the light pouring in from the window lit the ghost up and Laura thought she looked almost like an angel standing before her.

Laura cleared her throat, choosing to whisper now, pointing towards the door, “That was LaFontaine,” she said uncomfortably.

The ghost nodded, “Hmm… I know who that is; they have been disturbing my quiet time for months. It’s _you_ who I am interested in. Who are you?”

“I’m Laura, who are you?” 

“Carmilla… and it looks like I’m your new roommate, Sweetheart.”

Before Laura could respond, Carmilla gave one last smirk and disappeared. 

*

 “This may be the best pizza I’ve ever tasted,” Laura mumbled almost unintelligibly around a mouth full of food. “Seriously this cheese is heaven…”

“It is good, yes.” Perry spoke, eating her own pizza with cutlery, “But we can’t have you reverting back to your old ways, Laura. Cookies and take out will do you no good. I often bring LaFontaine a nutritious meal once or twice a week, I suppose I’ll have to do the same for you.”

Laura blinked at Perry; she felt like she was being reprimanded. They had gathered on the living room floor around the small table to enjoy their meal. The TV acting as background noise as they conversed.

“Perry, you don’t have to do that, I’m perfectly capable of cooking my own meals,” Laura said with a nod of determination. “Although, maybe on Monday, it is my first day… that would be nice… and maybe cookies?”

“Certainly Laura, of course.” Perry said with a smile.

"Yessss!" Laura said happily. 

 “So, are you excited about your new job, L?” LaF perked up.

 Laura nodded, swallowing another bite of pizza, “Of course, it’s Silas! I mean come on; I’m a reporter for Silas! It’s amazing!” She said excitedly.

 “I hope I’m decent…” She frowned to herself, letting the nerves of the new job fill her up. She had a sudden vision of being fired on her first day.

 “You’ll be great, Laura, no question about that.” Perry said encouragingly, pointing her fork in her direction.

“Thanks, Perr,” Laura replied quietly, lost in her own thoughts as she stood from the floor, headed toward the kitchen.

“Oh my g-!” Laura cried, a hand grabbing at her chest in surprise. Carmilla had suddenly appeared standing directly in front of her, she laughed aloud at Laura’s reaction, although Laura was the only one to hear it.

 “What is it, Laura?” Perry said, leaning back to peer at her.

 She scowled at Carmilla, “Just thought I saw something. It was nothing.” She said through gritted teeth.

 Carmilla smirked broadly at her and Laura had to awkwardly walk around her and still make it seem natural.

 When Laura returned to the living room, the ghost was gone, though she was certain she was still lingering somewhere in the vicinity. 

“Funny you say that, I think this place might be haunted.” LaF said to her, waving their pizza crust around as they spoke.

Perry nearly spat out her soda, “Now, now, LaFontaine, don’t frighten poor Laura.”

“Perr, what if this place is haunted? She needs to know…”

Laura tried to force a laugh but seemingly did so a little too hard and brought a hand up to cover her mouth.

“ _Wha_ -come on guys, ghosts don’t- there’s no…” she stuttered out, feeling heat rising in her cheeks.

 “Oh…you don’t believe in ghosts, L?” LaF said, sitting up straight and smiling at her with a raised eyebrow.

“No! Its- there’s no-“

“Leave her, LaFontaine. She’s got enough to worry about, not including your ghost stories.” Perry said, patting Laura’s arm reassuringly.

“But Perr you heard-” LaFontaine began.

“No! I didn’t hear anything.” Perry turned to Laura, “Laura, I didn’t hear anything.”

“Okay…” Laura replied, looking between the two of them, trying her best to look confused.

She faked a yawn, she needed this conversation to end now, “Guys, I’m a little tired, I think I’ll just finish unpacking and head to bed.” She said standing up.

“Ooh, do you need any help?” Perry asked excitedly, moving to stand as well.

“No! No… thank you but it’s fine, I’m almost done anyway.” Laura said with a nod, moving to leave.

“Wait a moment…” Perry said standing and moving off toward the kitchen, “I made cupcakes for dessert!”

“Ooh, forget the unpacking!” Laura giggled, heading in Perry’s direction.

*

 “Night, Laura!” LaF called as she headed in the direction of her bedroom.

She stopped still upon entering her room, lost for words as she took in the sight of Carmilla, lounging casually across her bed, stunned at her audacity.

“What are- I thought I told you get lost!” Laura whisper shouted at her, closing her door quickly.

Carmilla turned on her side to face her, resting her head on her hand casually with a smirk.

“So you’re a reporter, Cupcake?” she asked coolly.

“Were you listening the whole time?” Laura asked with irritation, trying to shoo Carmilla off the bed as if she were a cat but she didn’t budge. Irritated by her boots on the bed sheets even though she was a ghost and her boots technically couldn’t dirty her sheets but she was annoyed nonetheless.

 “No, I spent some time going through your things,” Carmilla said, gesturing towards the suitcase on the floor which was open and Laura’s belongings looked as if they had been flung in every direction. Newly placed books had been knocked and pulled off of the shelves and her cupboard was wide open.

 “What is wrong with you?!” Laura said, as loudly as she dared, moving to try and clear some of the mess. Picking up a shirt and turning to face her again, “You are _soo_ getting exorcised.” She scowled, waving the shirt in her direction as she spoke.

 Carmilla initially smiled but then her face dropped to a sad expression, and she glanced down at the bed sheets, appearing to take a breath she didn’t need, “I haven’t spoken to anyone in a long time... I almost feel… it’s nice, to speak to you.” The tone of her voice was so dejected; Laura suddenly felt an overwhelming sensation of guilt as she stared at Carmilla still sprawled out on her sheets.

“Carmilla I’m so sorry, I didn’t think, I never meant to-“ Laura paused as she watched the smirk appear on Carmilla’s face again and then she started to chuckle.

“Hey! You had me feeling sorry for you! You are a b- b- _bad person_!” Laura snarled, turning and heading for the bathroom, not slamming the door but closing it as harshly as she dared to.


	2. Ghost In The Stacks

Laura pushed her sunglasses up onto her head as she entered the hub of the Silas News building, noticing with delight how much cooler it was inside. She had regretted her choice of wardrobe as soon as she had left the apartment, feeling as though she may pass out from heat exposure. Her smart work jacket was meant to imply that she meant business though all she felt right now was sweaty.

“Hi, Laura Hollis, I’m a new hirer, reporter…” She said, approaching the main desk, trying to give off an air of confidence.

A woman about her age, looked up at her from her fancy computer screen and gave her a welcoming smile, “Okay, no problem, Laura did you say?”

Laura nodded, she watched the secretary’s gaze return to her computer screen for a moment.

“You’ll need this…” She stood quickly, handing Laura a visitor’s pass, “Until your own ID can be made up. If you’d like to take a seat, someone will be down for you in a moment.”

“Thank you,” Laura took the seat nearest to her and fiddled with her visitors pass nervously before dropping it around her neck, her knee starting to jiggle as she waited.

“Hi… Laura Hollis?” Laura looked up and up further.

Wow, so tall, Laura thought to herself.

“Yes,” she stood, trying to close the height gap between them, which wasn’t very successful given her short stature.

“Hi, I’m Danny Lawrence, I’m a reporter too,” Danny smiled pleasantly at her and held out her hand. Laura tried to discreetly wipe her sweaty palm against her pant leg before reaching for Danny’s hand.

Laura noted Danny’s very casual appearance and regretted her choice of wardrobe once again.

”Welcome to Silas, let me show you around, Laura,” Danny gave her another pleasant smile, as they shook hands and held eye contact for few moments, Laura felt her stomach squirm, she wasn’t sure if it was the first day nerves or Danny’s good looks.

Danny’s hand fell to the small of Laura’s back momentarily as she lead her towards the elevator, familiarizing her with the layout of the ground floor though Laura didn’t take much of that information in, she just nodded and gazed at Danny’s shiny red hair.

When the elevator doors opened and they stepped in Laura met her gaze and giggled quietly, flushing red at her moronic awkwardness. As usual she began to ramble in an attempt to defuse the tension.

“So you’re a reporter too? Will we be working together? How- How long have you worked here?”

Danny grinned as Laura spoke; she slipped her hands into the back pockets of her jeans in a relaxed way and nodded.

“Yes, I’m a reporter. No, we probably won’t be working on the same projects but please feel free to talk to me if you’re unsure about anything and I’ve worked here about three and half years… Was that all your questions?” Danny smiled again, showing her perfect teeth.

Laura nodded slowly, the ding of the elevator coming to a stop at Danny’s chosen floor made her look away.

Danny’s hand fell to Laura’s back again as she led Laura off of the elevator, “This is the 13th floor, this is our floor.”

She began to show Laura around, desk after desk of her new colleagues, name after name that Laura forgot immediately. Office after office of important people, the only thing that Laura could actually remember was where the break room was.

Danny walked into another office, not bothering to knock or greet its inhabitant. “This office belongs to Brody Kirsch, he’s a photographer and a complete douche canoe.”

Kirsch looked up from his computer, unfazed by the sudden interruption, “D-Bear I thought we were bros.”

Danny continued, “Kirsch, this is Laura, new reporter,” she gestured to Laura, who gave a small wave.

Kirsch stood and came around his desk towards them, puffing out his chest; he reached out his hand, “Nice to meet you Laura, the names Kirsch-”

“She knows your name,” Danny interrupted.

“It’s nice to meet you, Kirsch,” Laura, smiled at him, friendly.

“Ditto, _very_ nice-” He began.

“ _Don’t_ bother…” Danny interrupted again, “Lets go, Laura, ”

“Um… okay,” Laura moved to follow Danny, giving another little wave in Kirsch’s direction.

“Douche Canoe, Laura.” Danny said, shaking her head.

“Come on, he seems sweet,” Laura reasoned, feeling a little more comfortable in the new environment, especially with Danny by her side.

“Don’t fall for this charms, he sleeps with anything that breaths,” Danny rolled her eyes as they walked.

“First of all _ew_ , and second, I’m kinda _gay_ so…”

“ _Oh_ …” Danny’s eyebrows rose, “You are?”

Laura nodded and they stared at each other for a moment before Danny spoke, “Well, this is my work space,” she tapped the back of her chair “and over here,” Laura followed, “is where you will work.”

Laura smiled as she assessed her workspace, feeling a little excitement.

“So, I’m only a few desks away if you need anything,” Danny muttered.

“Thank you, Danny, for giving me the tour,” Laura placed her rucksack on her desk.

“No problem, Laura,” Danny suddenly seemed nervous; she ran a hand through her hair. “Okay, well lets go meet the boss and we’ll get you set up with your first assignment.”

*

“…I’m only doing a few puff pieces for the website as a start but it’s _soo_ exciting, LaF. And everyone is _so_ nice, and _Danny_! Danny is awesome.” Laura rambled on, her dinner untouched.

“So I heard the first time…” LaFontaine smirked across the kitchen isle, taking a sip of their water.

“I’m sorry, I’m talking too much aren’t I? It’s just… it went so well! _Oh!_ And Danny and me had lunch together and she likes Harry Potter! She’s a total Gryffindor.” Laura nodded to herself.

“You like her then?” LaF asked, obviously amused.

“I do but I… I think I should probably hold off on the whole _dating thing_ for a while, we are co-workers, I mean, I just got there…what do you think?” Laura asked them.

LaFontaine looked surprised at being asked their opinion on the topic and shrugged, “See where it goes, L.”

Laura considered that and smiled, ”Yes, I think that’s what I’m going to do, _see where it goes_ , thanks LaF,” Laura finally picking up her fork.

After dinner Laura was washing her plate by the sink, “Tell Perry that dinner was great,” she called as LaF headed for the couch.

“Will do,” LaF replied, casually.

Laura took a step in the direction of her bedroom and paused. She hadn’t seen Carmilla since Saturday night but she knew she was there. She’d moved things around Laura’s bedroom, she heard noises she knew weren’t LaF and Laura was almost sure Carmillla had closed her window for her last night. Laura had taken to dressing in the bathroom, aware that Carmilla might just appear at any moment, not that the bathroom door would stop Carmilla.

She shook her head, angry with herself for her hesitation. It was her room, not Carmilla’s!

She pushed her bedroom door open determinedly; almost hoping the ghost was there. She needed to talk to her, find out why she was still hanging around, it was the only the way she’d be able to live in peace.

Unfortunately the room was ghost free, Laura gave a little sigh. She walked over to her desk, walking past the window and noticed a book lying open on her window seat.

Laura turned her head to the side, reading the title, _The Portrait of Dorian Gray,_ she almost went to grab the book to return it to the shelf but paused, Carmilla would only take it again and then probably make a mess in the process for losing her page or something.

She left the book and sat at her desk, opening her laptop. She was expecting emails from work and she wanted to get a head start on some research. Laura smiled broadly when she came across an email from Danny.

 _Hey Laura, I meant to give it you earlier but slipped my mind, here’s my number – feel free to call/text me anytime._  :)

Laura blushed and immediately grabbed her phone, saving Danny as a contact. She opened a new message thread and chewed at her lip. What should she say? Should she text her right now?

“Laura, I’m heading over to Perry’s now so I’ll-” Laura nearly fell off her chair at LaFontaine’s sudden interruption, she grabbed at the edge of the desk. They paused and chuckled at Laura’s startled reaction.

“Everything okay, Frosh?” They chuckled again.

Laura took a deep breath, “Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting that.”

The funny thing was that Laura was expecting that, she was expecting Carmilla to appear at any moment, this was the most time she had spent in her bedroom when she wasn’t asleep of course and it was only a matter of time before she showed her face again.

“I’ll be at Perry’s, I’ll be back later on,” LaF said with a nod, “See ya Frosh,” they said with another chuckle.

Somehow when Laura heard the apartment door closing an eerie silence seemed to settle around her. A shiver ran up her spine and Laura didn’t know why she suddenly felt so peculiar. She knew who it was, she knew Carmilla was there and she had no reason to be feeling shaken up at all about it.

Laura breathed a sigh, “Just come out, I know you’re there.”

She waited, glancing around the room and waited a little while longer... but nothing happened. Laura turned back to her computer, shaking her head, feeling silly for being so on edge.

She immediately felt better when she saw the email from Danny still on her screen, picking up her phone again.

“What are you so pleased about?” Came a voice next to her.

Laura gave a little shriek, flinging her phone across the room in fright.

“Really?! Was that on purpose?” Laura asked angrily, standing from her chair.

Carmilla was stood before her, looking as beautiful and as ghostly as ever.

She smirked, seating herself on the window seat, “So, how’d it go?”

“How did what go?” Laura asked, eyeing Carmilla warily.

“Your first day, Cupcake.” She crossed one leg over the other and made herself comfortable as if settling in for a long chat.

Laura stared at her for a moment, what was she doing? Was Carmilla genuinely interested or was this some sort of set up?

“Do you care?” Laura looked at her suspiciously, sitting back down at her desk.

Carmilla did not reply, just continued to look at Laura expectantly.

“Don’t you know already, I’m sure you were probably eavesdropping while I was talking to LaF,” Laura looked away to her laptop screen, choosing not to look at the ghost beside her, hoping not looking at her would make the conversation easier.

“Cupcake, I have much better things to do with my time than listening to you and the mad scientist’s tedious conversations.”

Laura frowned at her and asked with genuine interest, “Where do you go then?”

“Well…” Carmilla chuckled, “I have to keep some of my secrets, otherwise I’ll lose my air of mystery, won’t I?”

“Okay…” Laura considered her next words, deciding to just go for it. “Carmilla, why are you here?”

Carmilla rolled her eyes, “I thought we already established this, Cutie, I _live here_.”

“No- That’s-” Laura shook her head, “Carmilla, you are… _dead_. Pushing up daisies, no-fog-on-the-mirror, bit the dust, kicked the bucket, _dead_. So tell me why you’re still here so I can help you.” Laura said, moving to edge of her seat.

“Who are you?” Carmilla asked in response, staring at her.

Laura sighed and ran a hand through her hair, “Okay… so, have you ever seen _The Sixth Sense_?”

Carmilla shook her head.

“ _The Sixth Sense_?” Laura asked again, “ _I see dead people_.” she added, doing her best impression of the kid from the iconic scene.

Carmilla was looking at her as if she had gone insane, “Are you okay?” She rose one perfect eyebrow.

“You’ve _never_ seen _The Sixth Sense_?!” She looked at Carmilla bemused.

“Sorry, Cupcake, you’ve lost me,” she said, shrugging.

“Okay then, basically ever since I can remember I’ve been able to see…” Laura waved her hands around as she struggled to explain, “… _spirits_? When I younger I kinda just thought it was normal and that everyone could see these shiny _individuals_ …and then… my mom died.”

Carmilla nodded, expecting more.

Laura took a deep breath, “I remember it clearly, I was six and it was the day of my moms funeral and I couldn’t find my shoe anywhere and I really wanted to wear those shoes. My mom loved those shoes and one of them was missing, I couldn't find the shoe… and then she was there, all shiny and glowy and she had my shoe.”

She paused for a moment, licked at her dry lip, “She spoke to me, she explained everything. She told me I was a mediator, a… _go-between_ for the living and the dead,” she explained, waving her hands a little.

“She told me how lucky I was to have this _gift_ and then she told me how much she loved me and then… she was gone.” She finished speaking quietly.

Carmilla’s mouth opened momentarily as if she were about to speak and then she hesitated, wringing her hands together.

“Cupcake, that’s-I’m-”

Laura cut her off, “And then you guys haven’t left me alone  _since_ ,” She smiled at Carmilla, “So now I’m trying to avoid the whole thing by moving here, where nobody knows about my special _ability_.”

“But it’s your job isn’t it?” Carmilla asked, engrossed.

“I know what you’re thinking, how can I be so careless and neglect such an amazing gift? Well, back home I couldn’t _sleep_ , I couldn’t _walk down the street_ , I couldn’t even buy groceries without one of you popping up and demanding my help… It’s not a very rewarding job for what I have to do and all it ever seems to do is get me into trouble.” Laura nodded with finality.

Carmilla gazed at her for a moment, choosing to remain silent.

“Okay, so you’ve heard my tragic back story, what’s yours?” Laura asked sitting back in her chair.

Carmilla smiled and looked toward the floor, shaking her head.

“I can’t help you unless you tell me,” Laura said, tapping her fingers on her desk impatiently.

“What makes you think I _want_ your help?” Carmilla said, meeting her gaze.

“Okay, _fine_ but you can’t stay here,” Laura replied, irritated.

“I’ve been here _a lot_ longer than you have, Cutie,” Carmilla smirked. “…And I’m not going anywhere.”

Laura’s mouth dropped open in in shock, “No, no, no, you are _not_ -”

She was cut off when Carmilla disappeared right before her eyes, “ _Oh, for the love of_ -!” Laura threw her hands up.

“I now you’re still there! You can’t stay here, Carmilla!” Laura yelled at no one.

She sighed, shaking her head, standing to grab her phone, which was still on the floor near the window seat and opening her window wide to get some air on her flushed face.

When Laura awoke some time during the night, a chill in the air made her shiver. She sat up looking across to her window, finding it already closed.

*

Laura pushed her chair away from her desk, her eyes automatically looking across to Danny, who turned and met her gaze with a sweet smile as if she had felt Laura's gaze.

Laura gave her a little wave, which she returned and then she stood to approach, with a smile.

“Hey Danny, I was wondering if there were any archives around here that I could have a little peak into, I understand that Silas did a piece on air pollution a couple years back and it would help me if I was able to read the full article.”

Danny ran a hand through her hair, “Oh yeah, if you go to the floor below this one, there’s a huge archive. Loads of old newspapers, magazines, news footage, that sorta thing, do you need me to go with you?” Danny moved to stand.

“No, no, that’s fine, thank you, Danny.” They smiled at each other for a moment or so and then Laura, feeling a little flustered, moved away toward the elevator with a little wave.

The door to the archive floor opened and Laura took in the space, large, dark and a little cluttered. Shelves after shelves filled the room, cases and cases of many years worth of newspapers and magazines, a large section of old tapes and then dvds. Laura almost wished she’d had agreed for Danny to join her, at least she may have a faint idea of where to look to find what she wanted.

Laura followed the dates on the newspapers 2015, 14, 13, 12 ,she walked around the corner and straight into a ghost, not Carmilla though, an old looking gentlemen, tie and a waist coat and he was throwing newspapers all over the ground.

Her stomach dropped, she thought she‘d been lucky. She hadn’t seen a single ghost, apart from Carmilla, in three days, three whole days! She knew her lucky streak would have to come to an end at some point, a little sooner than she would have liked.

She clicked her tongue, looking down at the ground, deciding she might as well get this over with, she smiled at the gentleman a little unhappily.

“Hi,” was all she said, trying to gauge what sort of a fellow he was.

He stopped throwing newspapers and looked at her crossly.

“Who are you?” He growled, peering at her cautiously.

“My name is Laura, Mr Grumpy-pants, who the hell are you?” She smirked at him, trying to irritate him.

“Cornelius Hans Albrecht, Lügenbaron von Vordenberg,” He yelled, pulling more stuff of the shelves, Laura took a step back.

“Hey! What are you doing?” She glanced around self-consciously, she was almost certain she was alone and she didn’t want anyone thinking it was her who had made this mess.

“This… _institution,”_ he said seething _,_ “-printed lies about me! This is my chance, it's time! I’m going to get my _revenge_!” He grabbed a stack of magazines, slamming them into the ground.

Oh god, Laura rolled her eyes, this is just what she needed on the second day of her new job.

“Look, um… Vol…Vorden..mort? You can’t- _hey stop_!” A chunk of magazines came flying past Laura’s head, she leapt out the way quickly.

She pointed a finger at him angrily, “Don’t make me have to do something… _drastic_ ,” she said, hoping she sounded confident.

She froze, looking around her as the shelves began to shake and a loud buzzing filled her air and Vordenberg looked angrier than ever.

“You can’t stop me.” He snarled, moving towards her, the buzzing grew louder.

Oh crap…

“Hey Laura, did you find what you were looking- _Woah!_ What the hell happened in here?!” The shaking stopped and the buzzing ceased, and the room returned to normal. Vordenberg disappeared from sight.

“It was like that when I got here,” Laura said quickly, blushing and shrugging, pointing to the piles of newspapers and magazines decorating the floor.

“Um… okay?” Danny looked puzzled, “Shall we... see if we can get his place cleaned up and then do you wanna go to lunch?”

*

Laura had made her decision; she pulled on her shoes hurriedly and rummaged in her closet for a light jacket. She was going back to the Silas building tonight when no one was around and she was going to deal with Vordenburg. And then she was going to go back to her happy new life as a reporter and all will be right with the world.

She smiled to herself as she pulled on her jacket, and then yelped as usual at a sudden unexpected voice.

“Where are you going?” Carmilla asked, appearing beside her.

Laura took a calming breath and the turned to look at her.

“That’s none of your business,” Laura looked at her perplexed.

“You’re going to get hurt,” Carmilla said irritated, crossing her arms.

“I can take of myself! Besides you have no idea where I’m going-,” Laura replied angrily, meeting her gaze.

“I know exactly where you’re going, Cupcake.” Carmilla said moving to stand in front of her, “You’re going back to that news building to talk to the Bloody Baron who is holding a grudge against Silas and everyone who works there…” Laura’s mouth fell open in shock, “He’s too much for you handle alone, Cutie.”

“How… do you- have you been _following me_?”

Carmilla rolled her eyes and chuckled, choosing not to answer Laura’s question, “You’re going to get hurt, you cannot handle this Vordenberg guy on your own,” Carmilla repeated.

“Get out of my room and out of my business,” Laura said, angrily, pointing her finger at her.

“I won’t let you go,” Carmilla said, smirking confidently.

“ _Excuse me_? How would you even go about stopping me?” Laura said, furiously.

The door to Laura’s room abruptly slammed shut and Laura yelped in shock and jumped away from the sound.

She looked at Carmilla crossly and then walked over to her door, pulling at handle, it didn’t budge.

She turned back to Carmilla then who was smirking confidently at her.

“Open the door,” Laura said taking a few deep breaths.

Carmilla stared at her for a moment and then slowly shook her head.

Laura threw her hands up in the air, “Don’t you get it? It’s my job to get rid of him. I’m actually very good at it, Carmilla… so open the goddamn door!”

After another moment of silence and staring each other down, Carmilla took an unnecessary breath and then the door slowly creaked open.

Laura made for exit quickly just incase Carmilla suddenly changed her mind.

“Wait…” Came a voice from behind her and then a hand grabbed her wrist.

Laura turned angrily to see Carmilla looking down at her hand in shock and the she slowly ran the pad of her thumb ran along Laura’s wrist.

A hint of smile appeared on her face and she started to speak quietly, “I didn’t know I could-“

Laura pulled her wrist from Carmilla’s grasp, not letting her finish; she turned and headed down the hall.

“ _Don’t go_! This Vordenberg guy, he’s not like other spirits, he’ll kill you if he gets the chance!” She head Carmilla shout behind her.

“I won’t let him,” Laura replied and she left the apartment.

Laura approached the Silas news building, it was still alive with people inside the main lobby and Laura frowned, well she honestly couldn’t have expected the building to be entirely deserted. She held her ID card up to the sensor, it dinged green and she pushed the door open.

Nobody looked at her as she passed so she headed toward the elevator as if she had reason to be there, punching the button for floor number 12 and tapped her foot impatiently as she rose though the floors.

The ding of the elevator sounded and the doors opened, the archive floor was quiet and dark. She moved forward a few paces, glancing around for any signs of anything untoward.

A ripped piece of paper, followed by a magazine, followed by more sheets of paper…

She followed the trail through the stacks and paused when she could hear the sounds of a low growling, paper ripping and the things hitting the floor.

Okay, she thought to herself, this is it, just try and talk the guy down, be polite first and then if that doesn’t work… we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

She took a deep breath and then came around the corner, there was Vordenberg, shining in the dark, pulling newspapers of the shelf, looking at the covers and throwing them away.

“Um… hi,” Laura smiled at him.

He turned, seeing her and then scowled, returning to pulling things off the shelf.

“ _Please stop_ , I can help you,” Laura said, meaningfully.

He turned quickly, pointing at her with a newspaper, “You can’t help me, I’m dead,” He rumbled.

“Tell me what you’re looking for, I can help you… and then you can leave this place and never come back.” Laura said, positively.

Laura’s face fell, as Vordenberg just appeared to get angrier, “Help me?” He chuckled evilly, “Everyone who works in this building is going to _die_ ,” He snarled.

Laura’s eyebrows drew together at that statement, “Um… No, No they are not,” she said, irritated, taking a step closer.

“You _cannot_ -” Vordenberg was cut off when Laura skillfully punched him in the throat.

“Listen here, Vordie, it’s time for you leave-“

The loud buzzing returned to the room and the shelves began to shake and Laura ducked as a box of magazines came flying at her face.

“Hey! You _cannot_ -“ She was cut off when many magazines started flying straight for her.

She took a step back, bringing her hands up to protect her head, tripping over a pile newspapers and landing flat on her back.

The shelves began to shake more around her; the buzzing in the room grew louder. Laura half sat up, looking for Vordenberg.

She shrieked as the one of the stacks creaked loudly and the whole shelf loomed closer, falling, hurtling straight at her. She wouldn’t have time to move, she rolled over away from the falling stack, hoping she wouldn’t sustain too much of an injury but then… she felt arms coming around her and she was quickly pulled across the floor and out of harms way.

There was a loud crash as the shelves hit the floor and Laura heard a voice in her ear, “I thought you said you were good at this!”

Laura turned to see a multitude of boxes flying straight for her and then Carmilla was yanking her to her feet and pulling her away.


	3. The Exorcism of Baron Vordenberg

Carmilla’s face was suddenly looming very close to Laura’s.

She was having trouble keeping up, one moment she was almost definitely going to crushed by a falling shelving unit and in the next she was staring into Carmilla’s enigmatic dark eyes. It was all rather disorientating and Laura had to also take a moment to note that she had never been this close to Carmilla before now and she was finding it hard to look away. Her mouth was moving but Laura could only hear a loud ringing in her ears, she frowned, trying to focus up.

“…need to _go_!” Carmilla pulled them aside as more debris was hurled in their direction, pulling Laura’s head down close to her.

“I’ll hold him back…” Carmilla spoke into her ear and then pushed her away toward the exit.

Laura steadied herself, turning quickly and looking back at the scene, she couldn’t leave Carmilla here alone.

“ _Go_!” Carmilla yelled again, before she turned and ran straight towards the malicious entity.

Laura frowned, unsure what to do. She took a step forwards to follow Carmilla and then hesitated. She stood for a moment more before making up her mind, turning and running for the elevator.

*

Laura felt sick as she paced back and forth in her bedroom. She shouldn’t have left Carmilla to deal with Vordenberg on her own. What had she been thinking?

She had run back to the apartment as fast as she could, expecting to find Carmilla sitting in the window seat with one of her books when she arrived but she wasn't there. Laura had been home 15 minutes by now and Carmilla was still a no-show.

Sweat was drying on Laura’s face; she breathed heavily as she chewed the end of the fingernail anxiously.

Carmilla’s a ghost! She reasoned with herself. Its not like she could get that _hurt_ …

Well… Laura thought back on her past experiences with the dead; actually... she could _definitely_ get hurt.

“Wait…” Laura said out loud, pausing in her pacing, “I shouldn’t care, I don’t even like her,” Laura nodded, as if trying to convince herself but then groaned, sitting heavily on the edge of the bed.

She pushed the palms of her hands into her eyes, “ _Stupid!... Undead!...”_

“I hope you’re not talking about me.”

“Carmilla! Are you okay? What happened?” Laura jumped up.

Relief flooding her as she saw Carmilla standing before her, looking as flawless as ever.

“Not a lot…” Carmilla sighed, “Although he’s definitely a lot angrier now, I honestly pity the unlucky Silas employee who finds that mess in the morning.” She smirked.

Laura chewed her lip, Carmilla was right… that Vordenberg guy should have been out of her hair by now! And yet things were just worse than ever!

“You should have let me talk him down,” Laura raked a hand through her hair and shook her head angrily.

Carmilla scoffed at that, “ _What?_ Are you _deranged_? He was _definitely_ beyond that.”

“What were you even doing there? I told you, it’s _my_ respo-“

“I was _saving you_!” Carmilla interrupted, heatedly.

“I hardly needed saving,” Laura scowled.

She knew deep down that wasn’t necessarily the case but she was annoyed that things hadn’t gone her way and she was looking for someone to blame.

“Oh, you just keep telling yourself that, Cupcake,” Carmilla replied, sitting in the window seat and picking up her book, sufficiently ending the argument.

Laura hesitated and watched Carmilla for moment before sighing, letting the guilt she felt when Carmilla was missing fill her up again.

“Thank you, Carmilla,” she chewed the lip, nervously.

They stared at each other for a moment and then Carmilla nodded.

“No problem,” she said quietly before her gaze returned to her book.

*

“Why are you googling _shadiest butchers in Styria_?”

Laura almost spat out her cocoa, sitting up in her chair and turning to face Danny, blushing furiously.

“Um… it’s for my… DOG!” She winced after the words left her mouth, oh god.

“You have a dog?!” Danny beamed at her, sitting herself on the edge of Laura’s desk, “What’s his name?”

“His name…?” Laura looked down at her desk, trying to hide her face.

“ _Oh my god! Has anyone seen the state of the archive room?_!” Laura felt both dread and relief as Kirsch stepped out of the elevator and drew the attention of everyone working on the floor.

“It’s been completely trashed!” Danny was up and heading for elevator along with many others before Laura could even pretend to be shocked.

She considered following Danny but she wasn’t sure how long she could keep up this act so she didn’t move for a moment or so and then slowly turned back to face her computer screen, trying her best to look perfectly innocent.

Oh yes…shady butchers.

Why was she googling this? Laura had an exorcism to perform and in order to do this, she needed blood. Blood, Laura had learned, was quite hard to come by and in the past she had had some success getting it from shifty butcher shops.

Laura continued scribbling down the list of addresses, hurriedly; worried that Danny may return any moment.

*

The apartment door slammed shut behind Laura as she rushed into her bedroom, dropping her unusual purchases on the bed in front of her.

Okay, she had blood, some paint brushes, a mountain of candles, some matches, Laura went over the checklist in her head.

“No! _No!_ _Not again_!” Carmilla appeared, on the opposite side of the bed, looking fed up, “What are you doing now?”

“My job,” Laura answered, emptying her rucksack out and beginning to fill it with her new purchases.

“Is that a bag of _blood_?” Carmilla winced, looking a little repulsed.

“Of course, I need it for the exorcism,” Laura said, matter-of-factly, “It’s animal blood, from a butcher, who by the way, charged me an extortionate price but I didn’t really have time to negotiate so I just had to-“

“Exorcism?” Carmilla pinched at the bridge of her nose and appeared to take a moment to calm herself down.

“ _You_ are literally the _most infur_ –“

“Carmilla, I’m going to need you to stay away from the Silas News building tonight, okay?” Laura said, coolly.

She heaved her rucksack onto her back, “An intern got hurt today, they are calling it a _freak accident_ but it was him. I know it was. I need to finish this and I have to do it tonight before anyone else can get hurt.”

*

The archive room was really not looking any better than the last time Laura had seen it, which probably meant the interns hadn’t got very far with their clean up before the “accident.”

Laura kicked some newspapers, creating a space on the floor for her to get to work. The room was quiet, eerily so. She kneeled on the floor, pulling candles from her bag, placing them around the floor in a circle, lighting each one as she went.

Okay circle of candles… now the blood. She grabbed her paintbrush and tried her best to tear a hole in the blood bag without spilling it everywhere and then began painting an ancient symbol in the middle of the circle.

Laura smiled to herself at how normal this was to her, just your everyday exorcism. No big deal.

She stood, looking down at her handy work and then pulled out a sheet of paper with the Latin incantation written on it that she would need to recite.

Happy with her progress so far, Laura took a calming breath before yelling into the stacks, “Hey, Vordie! Come out; come out, wherever you are! It’s me... Your best friend, Laura!”

Silence followed for a moment or so and then Laura heard the growling, sniveling sounds of Vordenberg coming closer to her. She steeled herself and looked down at her sheet, beginning to recite the incantation as her heart rate started to pick up.

There he was, he came around the stacks, heading straight towards her, and Laura hurriedly read the Latin words.

Closer and closer he came, appearing to not even notice the set up on the floor as he barreled towards her.

Laura took a step back and prepared herself for impact, expecting Vordenberg to reach her any second but… nothing.

A vast hole had opened above them in the circle; dark smoke began flooding from the gateway into the room below. The smoke started to take on a life of it’s own, reaching down and around. It began wrapping around Vordenberg’s limps like ropes.

Thunderous sounds seemed to be coming from the unknown above, and Vordenberg shook and shrieked reaching his arm out to make a grab at Laura. She watched the smoke wrap around his wrist and yank his hand back into the circle. A red light bore down from within the gateway and the smoke started to move upwards as if being sucked back up into the ceiling and Vordenberg along with it.

The whole room seemed to be alive, shelves vibrating so much the contents started to fall. Laura’s heart was beating a mile a minute; she recited the Latin words again. Vordenberg shrieked as his feet left the ground and he was being dragged into the unknown.

He then released a screech so loud, it reverberated off the walls, Laura was surprised the windows didn’t shatter.

The shuddering in the room, like an earthquake started to intensify as Vordenberg was disappearing. A stack slammed into the ground a few feet away from Laura but she didn’t budge from her spot, watching intensely as Vordenberg struggled against his bonds…

“Oh, I almost missed the show.”

Laura’s stomach dropped as she heard Carmilla’s voice unexpectedly beside her.

“ _Carmilla!_ You can’t be here, it’s not safe for you!” Laura yelled, standing in-between Carmilla and the circle and then pushing her away towards the exit.

“Go, _please_ , Carmilla… go.”

Carmilla looked at her seriously for a moment, nodded and then disappeared.

Laura turned just in time to see Vordenberg’s feet disappearing into the void and the hole seemed to close up it’s own, snapping shut like an elastic band.

Vordenberg’s cries echoed in the room for a moment or so after he was gone or maybe it was still ringing in Laura’s ears, she wasn't sure. A few more debris hit the floor around her before the room became completely still and the exorcism was over…

*

Laura could barely keep her eyes open, exorcisms could really take a lot out of a girl. She’d never been so happy to see her bed before.

Her rucksack hit the floor with a thud and then Laura face-planted her bed sheets.

“Are you okay?”

Carmilla... of course.

“Peachy,” Laura mumbled, turning over to look at the ghost.

Carmilla looked like she might say something more but then stopped herself, turning away to face the window.

“Think I’ll ju-”

“Laura why-” they spoke at the same time.

“Go on... what is it?” Laura asked.

“Why did you tell me to stay away tonight?” Carmilla asked, looking at her seriously.

“It’s obvious isn’t it? It was an exorcism. You might have been sucked into the gates of hell or whatever.” Laura yawned.

“But… wouldn’t that have made your life easier? With me out of the picture?” Carmilla stood at the bottom of her bed.

“No-well- that’s… not fair, you’re annoying but you don’t deserve that,” Laura reasoned, sitting up on her elbows.

“And… it’s not because you might actually like me a little?” Carmilla smiled at her.

“No, not at all,” Laura smiled back and could feel her telltale blush betraying her.

“Oh, okay,” Carmilla nodded, smirking.

Laura stood up from the bed and started to move off towards the bathroom, she paused, turning to face Carmilla again.

“Oh and if we’re going to be living together, we’re going to need some… rules.” Laura began.

Carmilla looked amused.

“Number one, you can’t sneak up on me anymore,” Laura stated.

Carmilla’s eyebrows drew together, “Well, what would you like me to do instead?” she asked bringing a hand up to her hip.

“Um…” Laura smiled, “Rattle some chains?”

“Would you like me walk around with a white sheet over my head as well?” Carmilla retorted, sarcastically.

Laura frowned, “No, that sounds terrifying.”

“Okay what else?” Carmilla asked, Laura could tell she was genuinely interested in where this was going.

“Stay out of my business and I mean that. We might be… _acquaintances_ now but that doesn’t mean you get to be all-“ She waved her hands around, “meddlesome.”

Carmilla's brow furrowed, “Fine.”

Laura nodded, ”Okay… Fine." Laura took a step back. "I’ll be... showering if you need me,” Laura blushed red at her own words, "Not that..that was.. an invit- _Bye!_ "

*

When Laura returned from the bathroom feeling tremendously cleaner than she had been feeling, she was surprised to find Carmilla still in the room, reading her book in the window seat.

Laura walked over to her bedside.

“Cocoa? Did _you_ make this for me?” A steaming mug of cocoa sat waiting on Laura’s bedside table. She looked over at Carmilla who just smiled at her and went back to reading her book.

Laura took a sip and licked at her lip, it was good; she brought the cup to her lips again.

“L, did you take my cocoa?” Laura spit a mouthful of the drink all over the floor as LaFontaine came into the room

“Um... Sorry! I… didn’t realize it was yours!” Laura stumbled on her words.

Laura could just make out Carmilla’s shoulders shaking as she hid her face behind the book, very amused.

LaF looked at her as if she'd gone mad, “You can keep it…I’ll just go make another. Are you feeling okay?” They asked.

Laura nodded quickly, not able to form any words and LaFontaine nodded slowly and closed the door.

“Really? I can’t believe you did that!” Laura whisper, shouted across the room.

Carmilla chuckled again, “You wanted the drink? No?”

“Yes but not if it was LaFontaine’s!” Laura argued.

“I’ll try and remember that for next time,” Carmilla chuckled and turned a page in her book.


	4. Have Your Cake And Eat It Too?

The buzzing of her phone drew Laura’s attention away from the laptop screen on her lap; she was currently lying on her bed, leaning against the headboard, starting a re-watch of Buffy.

What a wonderful way to spend a Friday evening after a long and _sometimes_ deadly month, Laura had mused to herself as she settled in for the long haul.

She grabbed up her phone and smiled at a new text from Danny.

Danny: _You’re a Buffy fan? Knew there was a reason I liked you… :)_

Laura: _Of course! Always a sucker for a show with awesome female leads! Maybe you can come over and watch with me sometime?_

She almost changed her mind, her thumb lingering over the send button. She was essentially asking Danny over on a date. Laura chewed her lip for moment and then hit send quickly before she could change her mind. Dropping her phone onto the sheets and continued to gnaw at her lower lip anxiously waiting for a reply.

Looking up, Laura noticed Carmilla had appeared in the window seat sometime in the last minute or so and was silently reading, facing not away from room as she usually did but sitting on the opposite side so she was facing towards Laura.

She didn’t greet Laura or make her presence known; Carmilla did this often as if she had grown so used to not having anyone to talk to that she forgot that Laura could see her. Laura found this quite pleasant, she liked having someone there but not necessarily having to put in any effort or entertain them in any way. Plus, if they weren’t talking, they weren’t bickering or arguing so it worked out well for them both.

Eyes returning to the screen, Laura watched her show for few moments and then giggled.

Her laugh seemed to capture Carmilla’s attention; her eyes flickered up to Laura for a few seconds then dipped back down to her page.

It was only moments later that Laura laughed a second time, running a hand through her hair and repeating a line from the show to herself. Carmilla’s eyes flickered up to observe Laura again, only this time her gaze remained fixed on her and she watched Laura pick up her phone, blush as she stared at the screen and started to chew at her bottom lip. Laura continued to smile as her eyes returned to the screen.

“What are you watching?” Carmilla had moved silently over to the bed next to Laura and was peering down at her screen.

Laura was momentarily startled but smiled when she registered Carmilla’s question, “Oh, it’s Buffy! Have you seen it?” Laura smiled up at her.

Carmilla shook her head.

“ _Come, sit down_ , watch a little bit,” Laura said, tapping the bed next to her.

Carmilla did not move for a moment or so but then seemed to make up her mind and sat herself down right next to Laura on the bed.

“Okay, so this is Buffy, she’s this totally badass vampire slayer…” Laura started in on the premise of the show as Carmilla remained quiet and before they knew it, they had sat through three episodes together.

Carmilla was completely captivated and Laura found herself getting more joy watching Carmilla watch the show then watching it herself. She felt almost envious of her, wishing she could watch the show again for the first time.

“So, you’ve _never heard_ of this show before?” Laura looked across at Carmilla.

She was silent for a moment, “I’ve heard of it, I just never really watched TV,” she responded, eyes not moving from the screen.

Laura knocked shoulders with her playfully, trying to catch her attention.

“So, what did you-” Laura began but Carmilla shushed her

And then Carmilla kept shushing her, when Laura would start to chat or ask her questions. When Laura did this one too many times for Carmilla’s liking, she reached over and covered Laura’s mouth with her hand.

Laura made some muffled sounds and blushed before Carmilla obviously decided she had made her point and dropped her hand.

She glanced at Carmilla with interest, she hadn’t expected her hand to feel so warm, it surprised her. She slowly, as if she thought Carmilla might disappear if she moved to fast, brought her hand to the back of Carmilla’s, it was indeed warm.

Carmilla looked down at their hands and then met her eyes, looking at her questionably. When Laura brought her hand up to Carmilla’s cheek she spoke, “What are you doing?”

“You’re so…. _warm_ ,” Laura said, as she slowly ran her fingers down the side of Carmilla’s face, noting how she seemed to lean into the her hand. It must have been a long time since anyone had touched her like that.

“Well, it’s probably… you, your body heat… given our close proximity,” Carmilla said quietly as they gazed at each other.

Laura felt suddenly hot all over and dropped her hand quickly. Carmilla was absolutely flawless and perfect and so close and _a ghost_ she reasoned with herself.

“Yes, you’re probably right, ” Laura forced herself to look away, her gaze returning to the show, as did Carmilla’s and Laura decided to keep quiet and her hands to herself from here on out.

As the evening wore on and Laura grew tired, she stretched her back and moved down the bed a little so she could rest her head on her pillow and continued to watch from her prone position, soon falling asleep.

*

Laura grumbled and turned away from the light that was pouring in through her bedroom window, she must have forgotten to close her shades last night…or did she ever? They usually just closed on their own.

Surely the sun had risen too early this morning, was that a thing that could happen? She thought in a sleepy haze. Where the hell is that dramatic music coming from? And whose leg is that?

She turned over quickly, sitting up as she went, only to find Carmilla, sat in the same position she was in last night, still watching the show.

“What the – _Carm_ ,” Laura groaned, rubbing at her eye.

Focusing up and taking in the scene before her, “Wait, you’re already like half way through season 2! Did you watch it _all night_?” Laura looked at her, confused.

Carmilla’s head turned towards her, the only move she had made since Laura had awoken. “I don’t really sleep so to speak so… yeah.”

“Oh…” Laura could understand that, she pushed some hair back from her face, peering at the screen.

“Ooh, this is a great episode,” she said, suddenly excited.

Carmilla rolled her eyes and Laura moved in close to her so they could continue to watch it together.

“This is one of my favorites,” Laura said, with glee, resting her head near Carmilla’s shoulder.

*

“Good morning,” Laura greeted LaFontaine, seating herself at the kitchen isle.

She had had to forcefully remove her computer from Carmilla’s grasp in order for her to stop watching the show. Carmilla had then feigned "having other plans anyway" and disappeared from the bedroom.

“Do you want some tea?” LaF asked as they poured some for themselves.

“Um… yeah sure,” Laura shrugged. “So, do you remember Danny?”

LaFontaine turned and raised an eyebrow at her, “How could I forget?”

A little giggle left Laura’s mouth as she blushed, “Well… I kinda invited her over here today.”

“Oh really?” They responded with a mischievous smile, “Have you two even been on an actual date yet?”

“We have lunch together all the time and well… I’d really like you guys to meet her,” Laura smiled.

“Well Perry’s coming over for dinner anyway so you guys can join us if you’d like?” LaFontaine said as they pulled out their phone, handing Laura a mug.

“Sounds great,” Laura said, sipping her tea.

“I better let Perry know, she’ll freak if I don’t tell her there’s an extra person for dinner.”

*

“Well, don’t you look like a virgin sacrifice,” Carmilla appeared in the mirror behind Laura in the bathroom, leaning casually against the wall.

Laura fought a smile as she met Carmilla’s gaze through the mirror and then shook her head.

“I wanted to look nice today,” She blushed and moved to leave the room, Carmilla’s gaze was making her uneasy.

“For me? You shouldn’t have,” Carmilla smirked following Laura out of the bathroom and then over to the bookcase.

“My friend from work, Danny is coming over for dinner,” Laura said absentmindedly as she tidied around her room, throwing clothes into the closet.

“Danny?” Carmilla asked distractedly as she chose a book from the shelf, briefly looking up at Laura and then back to the shelf.

“Hmm... Perry will here soon. She’s cooking dinner for us all, ” Laura said as she straightened up her bed sheets.

Carmilla grimaced and released a breath, “She’s almost as annoying as you,” she picked a book from the shelf and wandered over to the window seat.

Laura turned to look at her, “There’s nothing stopping me from performing a little exorcism in here, you know,” she said, crossing her arms.

Carmilla smiled at her, “Please go ahead, it’ll probably be better than the torture I’m currently having to endure.”

Laura fought back a smile, “I’m this close,” she said, holding up her finger and thumb an inch apart. Carmilla held out her arms in a way that indicated, do your worst.

Laura was just making empty threats and she was sure Carmilla knew that. They stared at each other for a moment, neither one of them willing to back down from their playful back and fourth.

The sound of the apartment door opening made Laura look away and then she grinned at Carmilla, “That’ll be Perry.”

Carmilla frowned as Laura left the room.

*

“Danny’s here!” Laura jumped from the couch at the sound of the door, patting down her dress, anxiously preparing herself.

“Danny!” Laura smiled widely as she opened the door to meet Danny’s equally wide smile.

“Laura, you look amazing!” Danny said, then glanced down at her jeans and old walking boots, “Now I’m feeling a little inadequately dressed…”

“No, no, you look good, great even!” Laura said quickly, as Danny leaned down to place a kiss on Laura’s cheek.

They gazed at each other for a moment before Laura spoke, “Oh! Come and meet my friends.”

Laura turned quickly, headed for the kitchen, Danny following on behind. The pleasant smell of the food cooking was filling the air.

“Danny, this is LaFontaine, my roommate and Perry, their girlfriend. Guys, this is Danny.”

Perry turned quickly as if she had been caught by surprise, “Hello, oh you’re tall!” she said, putting her hand out automatically and then pulling it away, “Sorry dear, my hands are covered in flour.”

“No problem, nice to meet you,” Danny nodded.

LaF, who had been leaning on the counter next to Perry as she worked, smiled and took a step forward, shaking Danny’s hand.

“Hi, nice to meet you, I go by them/they pronouns,” LaF said with a grin.

“Oh, okay, cool. I was going to bring wine… but um… I really don’t _like_ wine so I’ve just brought some beers?” Danny said, holding up her bag.

“Nice,” said LaF, reaching for the bag, happily. “So you work with L?” LaF said, as they grabbed a beer.

“Whoa, who’s the ginger giant?” Laura’s head whipped around to see Carmilla casually leaning against the wall.

She frowned at Carmilla, who smirked at her and then Laura turned back to her friends hoping Carmilla would leave her alone.

She tried to tune back into the conversation, “…smells great, what are we having?”

Perry smiled widely, “It’s just my famous honey garlic pork chops, you eat meat right, because if you don’t I can just whip up…”

“Laura, I have a serious question to ask…” Carmilla spoke up again.

Laura closed her eyes momentarily, deciding to ignore Carmilla’s presence in the room.

“Are _all_ of your friends ginger?” Laura’s hands clenched into fists, Carmilla was now stood directly behind her, speaking into her ear.

Laura tried to look as casual as she could, ignoring Carmilla again. Grabbing a beer for herself and smiling at Danny who met her eyes and then everyone was moving toward the living room.

“So, how are you doing?” Danny asked Laura as they took their seats on the couch.

“Great!” Laura said quickly, “I love it here, great city, nice people and I’m really enjoying the work. ”

“You’ve made a great start, Laura, everyone is super impressed by you,” Danny complimented her and tapping her knee reassuringly. Laura felt her cheeks redden.

“Well… I do have you to by my side,” she smiled.

“Yes, we’re clearly both geniuses,” Danny said jokily, running a hand through her hair.

A gagging sounded across the room and then Laura spotted Carmilla walking into her field of vision, “Sorry…I just got really nauseous all of a sudden.”

Laura tried not to react to Carmilla, glancing at her with what she hoped was stern look momentarily and then clearing her throat and taking a gulp of her beer.

“Laura, have you told your friends about the mystery of the archive room?” Danny asked with a grin.

“Oh! No… guess I just forgot.” Laura replied, bringing her beer to her lips again.

“What mystery?” LaF asked, looking very intrigued.

“It’s so strange…” Danny began, telling the mystery of trashed archive room while Laura tried her best to look equally puzzled.

“Should I start throwing books around or smash a beer or something? Really scare them…” Carmilla moved as if with determination.

Meeting Carmilla's eyes from across the room, Laura gave her a rather reprimanding look.

"Will you guys excuse me? I'll be right back," Laura said to the group with a polite smile, giving Danny's arm a reassuring squeeze as she stood.  

Hearing Carmilla's footfalls following her, Laura turned at the sound of the bedroom door closing and scowled.

" _What are you doing_?" She whispered, angrily.

"What?" Carmilla chuckled, "It's not like any of them know I'm there."

" _I know_ and you're very _distracting_!" She said, heatedly.

"When you said _Danny_ was coming over, I thought you were referring to a man," Carmilla stated, somewhat accusatorially. 

Laura grimaced a little, " _No_ , Danny is quite clearly a woman. What's that got to do with _anything_?"

"I don't like her," Carmilla grumbled, moving past Laura towards the window.

Laura scoffed, "Well then it's a good thing no one asked you too."

"Are you interested in her?" Carmilla turned to look at her.

"What?" Laura asked, confused. This conversation had taken a turn she wasn't expecting.

"Are you _into her_?" Carmilla responded, taking a step in Laura’s direction.

Laura frowned, “… I guess I am.”

Carmilla said nothing more but released a breath and shook her head, looking a little repulsed. She then turned, headed for the window seat, picking up her book as she sat.

Laura turned to leave the room, happy that Carmilla had momentarily decided to leave her alone.

*

“…And this is my bedroom.” The bedroom door opened and Laura followed by Danny entered the room. Carmilla dropped her book onto the cushion with a sigh.

“It’s so cozy in here, I like it… nice sheets by the way,” Danny said, casually sitting on the edge of Laura’s bed. “You were right, it is a fantastic apartment, I’m a little jealous.”

Laura giggled and moved to sit next to Danny on her bed.

“Oh, this is _not happening_ …” Carmilla groaned from across the room.

Laura ignored her.

“So…um, did you still wanna …watch Buffy with me?” Laura asked, hopefully, fidgeting nervously.

 _“What!?”_ Came Carmilla’s voice again, obviously irritated.

“Yes, of course! It’s the whole reason I came over isn’t it?” Danny replied, excitedly.

Laura stood quickly, looking happily relieved. “Well, I’m half way through season 2 if you’re okay with watching from there?” Laura said, moving around the bed and grabbing her laptop, ignoring Carmilla who was staring at her with a stunned expression as she passed her.

“ _Oh_ _rea_ \- you know, I just remembered, I gotta be _anywhere but here,_ ” Carmilla said, exasperated, before disappearing from the room.

 Laura felt a twinge of guilt, she paused, looking over at the spot where Carmilla had been, she chewed at her lip; her eyebrows drew together as she frowned.

“-Laura?”

Danny drew her attention; Laura turned and blinked at her for a moment before remembering her intentions, she sat on her bed with her computer and tried to smile at Danny welcomingly.

“Everything okay?” Danny asked, looking a little concerned.

She nodded, “Of course, so season 2…”

*

“Laura, I better go, I need to meet Kirsch tomorrow morning at the gym near my place,” Danny said, stretching and moving to stand as another episode finished.

Hours had past and Laura and Danny had watched several episodes of the show together on Laura’s bed.

“Oh, okay,” Laura nodded, “Thanks for coming over, it was nice to spend time with you.”

Danny glanced at her, “Tell your friends it was nice to meet them both and thank Perry again for dinner?” Laura nodded. “We’ll have to do this again some time.”

“Of course,” Laura said, feeling nervous as Danny stared at her.

Their eyes met for a moment before Danny smiled and leaned closer.

This is it, Laura thought, she closed her eyes as Danny’s face hovered close to hers. She felt Danny’s breath against her face….

Laura sucked in a breath and her eyes opened wide as a loud crash ricocheted around the room.

“ _Whoa,_ _what was that?!”_ Danny said, quickly pulling away and looking around the room in fright.

Laura sat up, running a hand threw her hair, “…It was… my window. My window must have slammed shut,” Laura said with a sigh.

“Come on,” Laura said, moving to stand.

Laura leaned against the edge of the apartment door as said goodbye to Danny.

“Guess I’ll see you at work, I’ll text you,” Danny paused and smiled down at her, Laura thought she might try to rekindle their almost kiss in the bedroom but the moment seemed to have passed, “See ya, Laura.”

She gave Danny one last little wave as she left the apartment.

Standing alone in the apartment, Laura sighed before heading back to her bedroom.

“What was that all about?” Laura spoke from the doorway of her empty room. “I know you’re here, Carm.”

“Can I get back to my book now?” A voice came from behind her.

“ _For the love of-!! I told you to stop doing that_!” Laura yelled in fright.

Carmilla walked passed her into the room, grabbing up her book from the window seat and sitting.

“What are you doing?” Laura asked angrily, moving towards Carmilla, placing her hands on her hips.

“Reading,” Carmilla replied, lazily.

“That’s _not_ what I meant, what _were_ you-” Laura paused, staring at the book in Carmilla’s hand, her head turning to the side as she read the cover.

“What are you reading? That is not one of my…”

“Lady just moved in couple apartments below who has a rather _impressive_ book collection,” Carmilla looked up at her for a second before returning to her book.

“Oh…” Laura frowned, her stomach churned uncomfortably and she wasn’t sure why.

“I thought…” Laura swallowed, “…you only haunted _this_ room?”

“I do, I just… get around,” Carmilla shrugged.

Laura ran a hand through her hair, staring down at Carmilla as she read, “Is she nice?”

“Who?” Carmilla asked, her eyes fixed on the page in front of her.

“The lady with the books,” Laura wrung her hands together.

Carmilla looked up at her as she turned the page, “Wouldn’t know, Cupcake, never spoken to her,” she replied, uninterested.

“Of course,” Laura mused, feeling awkward. She wasn’t sure why but she didn’t like the idea of Carmilla hanging out in anyone else’s apartments, bedrooms even.

“Is she pretty?” Laura felt the blush on her cheeks; the question had slipped from her mouth before she had a chance to consider her words.

Carmilla shrugged, “Guess so…”

“Oh,” Laura paused then, glancing down at the ground with a frown. The anger she had been feeling a few moments ago completely gone to be replaced with… jealousy? Laura shook her head, of course she wasn’t jealous. What was there to be jealous about?

Except the pretty lady who had books that Carmilla liked.

Laura shook her head, what was she thinking?

“Okay, I’m going to regret this but what’s wrong?” Carmilla was looking up at her now with interest.

“Nothing,” Laura replied quickly moving to her closet, rummaging around.

“There’s obviously something…”

Laura forced a laughed, grabbing a pair of pajamas and closing her closet door a little too loudly.

“No, everything is fine!” Laura said, making a beeline for the bathroom, away from her roommate.


	5. The Book Of The Dead

Laura pushed her bedroom door open with her hip as she pulled off her shirt, home from another sweltering day in Styria. She sighed, exhausted from the heat, she needed a shower and then probably a nap and then another shower, she mused to herself.  

Eyes widening in shock, Laura moved to cover herself quickly with her shirt, a blush heating up her face as she noticed Carmilla across the room, her eyebrows raised in surprise. 

Great! Laura thought to herself.  The _one day_ I don’t get dressed in the bathroom is the _one day_ Carmilla just happens to be lingering in my bedroom! 

“Oh no, carry on, by all means…” Carmilla smirked, appearing to get over the initial shock of seeing Laura shirtless and moving to sit on the edge of the bed as if expecting her to continue to undress. 

“I can’t have 5 minutes peace…” Laura sighed and shook her head, grabbing some clothes from her closet hastily and disappearing into the bathroom. 

“How was work?” Carmilla asked, amused, from the other side of the bathroom door.

“I made a friend on the way to get a sandwich,” Laura’s muffled voice could be heard as the shower switched on. “Thank god, Danny didn’t join me for lunch today.”

Laura waited for Carmilla to respond, she was quiet for a few seconds and Laura wondered whether she had disappeared on her. 

“By _friend_ , do you mean another unfortunate soul?” Eventually came Carmilla’s reply. 

“A ghost? Yes.” Laura called back.

“What happened?” Carmilla asked, sometime later when the bathroom door eventually opened and a fresh-looking Laura appeared. 

“Young girl, died in a car accident. She’s upset because she thinks her boyfriend has already moved on.” Laura said as she towel dried her hair.

“And?” Carmilla asked.

Laura shook her head, “She disappeared on me _but_ … she’ll be back. They always are.”

 “So you’re back on active ghost duty then?” Carmilla asked, her eyes following Laura as she moved around the room.

“ _No,_ I just… don’t really have a choice, do I?” Laura said, “I’ll deal with this and then I’m done.” Laura continued with a shrug, turning to look at Carmilla.

Carmilla smiled and nodded, “Okay and then the next one and then another and-" 

“ _No_.” Laura shook her head but smiled.

Carmilla stood and slowly sauntered over to her, she gazed at Laura with a smile, “Yes you will.”

“Nope,” Laura said again, trying and failing to hold back a giggle.

Carmilla raised an eyebrow, “ _Really_?” she smirked, sceptically, giving her head a little shake.

Laura couldn’t respond, Carmilla was standing very close all of a sudden. Her mouth was a little dry, she licked her bottom lip, dropping her gaze to the floor and breaking eye contact.

“What’s with all the questions anyway?” Laura said quickly, giving Carmilla a suspicious look, “You’re never usually this interested in me.”

Carmilla’s brow furrowed and then she took another step closer, her eyes wandered all over Laura’s face. “Cupcake, you’re literally the _only_ person I know… _of course_ I’m interested in you.” 

Laura was speechless, her stomach squirmed, she’d never admit it but she liked the thought of having Carmilla all to herself.

“Carm… that’s“ Laura paused and frowned as she watched Carmilla’s gaze move towards the bedroom door. 

Turning slowly, Laura froze as she saw LaFontaine staring at her uncomfortably from the doorway.

Oh crap… 

There was a moment of silence, Laura’s mind was working a mile a minute to try and think of a valid reason as to why she would be holding a conversation with no one.

This is it, she thought, devastated, you’ve finally been exposed…

She stared at them, her mouth opening and closing like a fish as she continued to say nothing. 

LaFontaine, who looked a little scared, finally spoke.

“Laura… who are you talking too?” They said apprehensively, their eyes glancing around the empty room. 

Laura opened her mouth but no words came out, she could still see Carmilla standing close to her in the peripheral vision. She looked to her for help; Carmilla’s expression suddenly went from serious to trying not to laugh.

She swallowed, feeling a little sick, what the hell was she going to say?! She was almost certain the blush on her face would never go away.

“Well…” She looked back over at LaF, lingering in the doorway, “How long have you been standing there?” Laura whispered, cringing inside.

LaF scratched the side of their head, “Erm… pretty much long enough to see you having a conversation with…” They gestured with their hand to the space next to Laura. They unexpectedly gasped and Laura took a step back in fright, colliding with Carmilla who reached out and steadied her. 

“ _No way!”_ LaF squealed in delight, Laura’s eyebrows rose in response.

“You’re talking to the…the _ghost?”_ They whispered the last word as if that might stop Carmilla from overhearing them.

Laura shook her head almost violently, “ _No!_ I’m- LaF, it is _not_ -”

“You’re one of _them_!” LaFontaine said excitedly, clapping their hands together and actually bouncing on the balls of their feet, “One of the shifters! _Oh_ , I should have known!” 

“I knew they were real! _I knew it!_ Who is it? There’s a ghost in apartment, right? The woman who died here? Is she here now?” LaF spoke quickly, glancing around erratically with excitement. 

Laura frowned, “LaF, you _knew_ someone died in this apartment and you nev- Wait… you actually _believe?”_

“Of course! Wait here a minute…” LaFontaine left the room suddenly, leaving Laura in shocked silence; she dragged in a ragged breath. Looking toward Carmilla, they made eye contact and Carmilla gave a little shrug, “At least they-”

“ _Here it is!_ ” LaFontaine ran back into the room, they were holding up an ancient looking book.

“You’d have read it of course,” LaFontaine assumed.

Laura stared at the book for a moment, why should she have read this mangy old book?

 “The… book of the _dead_?” Laura read the title aloud, “No, can’t say I’ve ever read that,” she frowned and shook her head.

“You _haven’t_ read this?” LaF frowned.

“Nope. Carm, have you read it?” Laura glanced at her for a second.

“No,” Carmilla smiled, shaking her head.

“Neither of us have read the book, what is it?” 

LaFontaine looked hesitantly at the empty space next to Laura.

 “L, this book is… it’s like your whole _purpose_ , you’re a shifter, how have you _not_ read this book?” LaFontaine held it out to her.

“What do you mean?” She took a step closer, reaching for it.

LaF sucked in a breath, “You gotta read it,” they said in response, “You need to read this book, if you’re a shifter, this is your calling.” 

“Shift- No- I’m a mediator…not a shifter,” Laura said as she looked down at the cover.

“Shifter, mediator same thing, you can talk to the dead, move within the dimensions and-”

 “Sorry, _What?_ ” Laura interrupted. “Move within the _what_?”

LaFontaine rolled their eyes, “ _Read the book_ , L, then you’ll understand.”

Laura glanced down the book again, where would LaF even get a thing like this?

They were silent for a few seconds.

“Okay… I’ll read the book,” Laura chucked the old thing on her bed, completely uninterested, she knew how to do her job… and not only that, it wasn’t even her job anymore.

“Where’d you even get that?”

“Funny story actually, stole it from a priest,” LaFontaine said, reminiscently, “Anyway so, who haunts the apartment?” They asked with interest. 

Laura looked around for Carmilla as if she could be easily introduce herself. Carmilla released a breath, shaking her head at Laura’s apparent idiocy.

“Oh, it’s Carmilla...” Laura didn’t know what else to say, she thought for a moment, considering it now, she hardly knew Carmilla, she wasn’t even sure how she had died… 

LaF nodded, “Is she here right now? Can she hear me? Does she look like a ghost? Are ghosts see through? Why didn’t you-”

“LaF! Okay… erm… this going to be a long night,” Laura said, glancing in Carmilla’s direction for support, she frowned as she watched Carmilla disappear.  

*

 Laura tapped a pen against the edge of her desk, sulking as she struggled to finish an article due for work; she sat back in her chair with a huff. After a moment, her attention shifted to Carmilla, reading on the window seat as per usual.

“Carm?” Laura spoke.

“Hmm?” Carmilla mumbled in reply.

Laura took a moment to respond, she glanced toward her bedroom doorway, worried someone might be listening, even though she knew she was alone. LaFontaine had taken the news of Laura’s special ability quite well, better than Laura could have expected. She didn’t have to hide her gift from them anymore but she still felt uncomfortable.

 “How did you die?” Laura asked, leaning forward in her chair.

Carmilla met her gaze, eyebrows raised, obviously not expecting the question. 

“I was shot.” Carmilla said casually, closing her book and then chuckling at Laura’s resulting horrified expression.

She slid her chair over to the window seat slowly as she stared at Carmilla.

“ _Why? Where?”_ She probed, her eyes glancing down Carmilla’s body and back up as she asked. 

Carmilla responded by lifting her black shirt, exposing the expanse of the white skin of her stomach and a small hole just left of her navel.

Laura stared in alarm for a moment; her gaze shifting to Carmilla’s amused expression and back down. 

“What _happened_ to you?” Laura asked, reaching forward as if to touch but pulled her hand away at the last moment, shaking her head.

Carmilla shrugged, letting her shirt fall back down, “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Laura asked, interested.

“I don’t _remember_ … but here I am with a bullet hole so it’s safe to assume that’s how I died.” Carmilla said, running a hand though her hair.

“Wait…so you don’t remember _anything_?!” Laura asked, unbelieving. 

Carmilla shook her head; “I was alive, here in my apartment, in this room in fact and then next thing I know I’m _dead.”_ She was quiet for a moment. _“…_ And then I watched as all of my belongings were carted away and the apartment changed and became someone else’s home, a new life, your friend and then _you…_ moved into my bedroom.”

Laura chewed her lip, uncomfortably, “… Wow… I’m _so_ sorry, Carm, I never even thought-”

Carmilla chuckled and shook her head as Laura spoke, “Cupcake…” she placed her hands on top of Laura’s, “Please don’t do that, don’t do this whole feeling sorry for me thing. I am dead but I’ve come to terms with that. I’m probably lucky.” Carmilla shrugged. 

“How?” Laura frowned.

“How is it, that one of the few people that can _actually see me_ happened to move into my apartment?” Carmilla said, raising a perfect brow. 

They gazed at each other in silence, Laura wasn’t sure how to respond. 

“Carm… How can I help you if you can’t remember anything?” She said, concerned.

“I’m happy right here, Cupcake, I _really_ don’t want to go anywhere,” Carmilla smiled, a perfect smile.

Laura knew it was probably wrong and it was her job to help her but if she honest with herself, she didn’t want Carmilla to go anywhere. It surprised her suddenly how living with Carmilla had become such a normal part of her life, Laura couldn’t imagine life without her anymore.

Carmilla’s stare was intense, unblinking, Laura found herself lost in Carmilla’s dark eyes.

God, I wish you were alive.

“Really?” Carmilla smirked, licking her lower lip.

“What?” Laura blushed red, had she said that out loud?! She sat back in her chair, noticing how close she had drifted, pulling her hands from under Carmilla’s and clearing her throat.

“Lau-” 

“What’s your name?” Laura interrupted quickly, changing the subject and running a hand through her hair.

“Carmilla, sweetheart,” she sighed, looking a little displeased.

“No, your last name, family name, I mean,” Laura said, feeling too warm. She longed to lean over to open the window but that involve leaning into Carmilla’s personal space and she was afraid of getting too close.

Meeting Carmilla’s eyes again, Laura realised she was getting the, ‘ _I’m going to disappear any minute’_ vibe from Carmilla all of a sudden and that was the last thing Laura wanted.

“It’s Karnstein,” Carmilla said, grabbing up her book, starting to withdraw. 

Laura pouted, reaching over to grab the book, “Carm, can you-”

The loud ring of Laura’s phone made her pause and she looked at Carmilla regretfully for a second longer before rolling her chair back over to her desk.

Danny.

Laura chewed her lip, her eyes glancing between Carmilla and the phone. She almost didn’t want to answer it. She sighed quietly, her thumb hovering over the phone, she knew what would happen if she did… 

“Danny, hi,” Laura spoke, answering the call, trying to sound like her usual cheery self.

 She could see Carmilla’s head fall back against the wall with irritation and then her book snapped shut.

She watched as Carmilla dropped her book onto the seat beside her and dissolved into thin air. Oh well… Laura thought, she haunts the room, she’ll have to come back eventually. 

“Yeah sure,” Laura replied to Danny, staring at Carmilla’s empty seat.

She chewed her bottom lip, what had she done wrong this time? It seemed she couldn’t hold a conversation with Carmilla anymore without it ending in a disagreement.

 _Laura?_  

“What? Danny, sorry, what were you saying? … No, I’m fine … Friday night? Yeah sure.”


	6. Karnstein Murder Mystery

“Come on, Hollis, you _must_ have a hobby or something…” Danny said with a smile, bumping shoulders with Laura as they strolled along the sidewalk towards her apartment, as darkness started to settle over Styria.

“Erm…” Laura frowned in contemplation, not meeting Danny’s gaze, eyes on the ground. Sure, she had a hobby, did being hassled by ghosts count as a hobby? 

Danny had just finished up telling Laura all about her basketball team, swimming achievements, rock climbing, snowboarding and various other exciting ventures that made Laura feel a little inadequate.

“I had some Krav Maga lessons… when I was 8,” Laura winced at her own words. She hadn’t expected that to sound so lame.

Danny did not immediately respond and Laura snuck a glance in her direction. To her surprise, she was smiling, Danny’s eyes wandered over Laura’s face intently as they passed under a street light.

“What happened?” Danny asked, reaching out, her finger gently touched a thin scar near Laura’s hairline. 

“Oh, it was from a totally _evil_ -“ She paused, her eyes widening at her almost slip, “… _Cat_ , evil cat.” Laura finished quietly, grateful it was dark to hide her embarrassment.

Laura glanced across the street, they had almost reached her apartment, her hands wrung together as she contemplated asking Danny to come up. It seemed only right, she had walked Laura all the way back to her apartment. It would be awkward if she didn’t invite her in, right?

But she couldn’t… not with Carmilla there. 

Carmilla had been quiet for a few days, Laura had a feeling she was probably still angry with her. Laura still wasn’t certain what she done to make Carmilla so mad but she decided bringing Danny up to the apartment would probably only make matters worse. Carmilla seemed to really dislike her.

“So, this is me…” Laura said, looking up at her building and then across at Danny. 

“Did you-” Laura paused, the words almost left her mouth as she tried to speak in a rush and defuse the tension, she had almost invited her in.

They were both silent, Danny was looking down at her with a sweet smile and Laura expected she was waiting for the invite. “I’d invite you up but… LaF is sick…” Laura said seriously. She hated herself, she felt like every other thing she said to Danny was a lie.

“Sick? What do you mean? Are they going to be okay?” Laura felt so guilty, Danny seemed genuinely concerned. 

“Yes! Yes of course…I just didn’t want you exposed… to the… sick…ness.” Laura cringed at her awkwardness and what felt like a blatant lie.

 “What about you?” Danny smiled, raising an eyebrow, “Won’t you get sick?”

“I- I- ” Laura stumbled over her words, she had nothing. She had run out of lies!

What was worse was, she liked Danny, she liked Danny a lot actually. She didn’t want to lie to her.

“I’m-” Luckily Laura didn’t have to finish her lie because Danny’s lips unexpectedly descended on hers, sufficiently silencing her.

Laura kissed her back, happy to bring that conversation to an end. Once the initial surprise passed, Laura was contented to settle in and enjoy the kissing… but soon found herself frowning, as a battle seemed to rage within.

Jeez, Hollis! She argued with herself, what the hell is the wrong with you! You’re currently being kissed by an insanely perfect woman. Focus up here! 

Bringing her hands to Danny’s face, she tried to force herself to enjoy the kiss, get lost in it but… she felt nothing.

Laura opened her eyes just as Danny pulled away with a satisfied sort of smile.

“…Wow,” Danny whispered, quietly.

Yeah… _wow_ , Laura thought to herself, you’re an idiot, Hollis.

“Laura, I had a really good time tonight,” Danny said, tucking a strand of Laura’s hair behind her ear in a way that Laura should have found perfect and romantic but again she felt nothing at all.

“Me too, Danny. Um… thanks again for dinner and, you know, walking me home,” Laura smiled up at her.

“Anytime, Hollis.” Danny replied, dropping her hands from Laura’s shoulders and taking a step back.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, I’m buying lunch remember, it’s my turn!” Laura said, pointing a finger at Danny.

“Okay,” Danny smiled, tucking her hands into the pockets of her jeans as Laura found her keys, heading into the apartment building with one last goodbye.

Laura released a sigh and leant heavily on the apartment door when it closed behind her. She felt a mixture of emotions, guilt, how much longer could she keep lying to Danny? Confusion, the date was perfect, so why didn’t it feel _right_? And then relief?

She pushed away from the door, moving into the kitchen to make cocoa and internally chastise herself for being so relieved that the date was over.

“L, I just had one or two more-”

Laura dropped her mug onto the table top with a gasp as LaF approached her unexpected. 

 “… questions.” They finished their sentence, looking at Laura with concern.

“LaF, you- you startled me,” Laura shook her head, embarrassed. She turned back to make her drink.

“Oh… your date with Lawrence was tonight, yes? How’d it go?” LaFontaine said, grabbing a seat quickly. 

Laura chewed her lip as she considered her words, she turned to face LaF with a frown and a shrug, “It was perfect.”

“Okay, if it was perfect why do you look like your favourite tv show has just been cancelled?” 

She sighed, sitting down heavily next to LaF and letting her head fall onto the table top.

“I don’t know… I have to keep lying all the time, we have practically nothing in common and… I felt nothing, LaF, _nothing_.”

 “What does that mean?” They asked.

“When we kissed just now… I felt nothing, no… spark.” Laura turned her head to look across at LaF, too tired to lift her head from the table top.

“Ooh…” LaF mused for moment. “Guess that might be a problem… You still like her though?”

Laura worried her lip for a moment and released a sigh before lifting her head, “Yeah? I think so?”

“You don’t sound so sure, L,” 

*

 ‘CARMILLA KARNSTEIN’ Laura typed into the Silas archive search engine, she tapped her fingers impatiently on the keyboard, glancing around the office and waving at Kirsch as she waited for the information to load.

Chewing her lip as she read the dates and headlines quickly _, 24-Year-Old Found Dead in Own home_ , May 2010. _Karnstein Murder Investigation Underway_ , May 2010. She scrolled through the many headlines, frowning with concentration, her stomach squirming as she read. _Karnstein Murder Mystery Remains Unsolved_ , January 2011.

Why did reading these headlines make her feel so upset? Laura shook her head, almost smiling to herself for being so silly, Carmilla is already dead, she told herself.

She clicked print on the page and stood quickly from her desk, across the room to the printer.

“Laura! D’ya wanna go grab some lunch?” It was Danny, Laura had unintentionally managed to avoid her all day until now.

“Actually Danny,” Laura said, as she grabbed the sheet fresh from the printer, “I have something I have to do right now but tomorrow for sure!” She said, feeling a little guilty as she tapped Danny’s arm and ran off toward the elevator.

Deep in the archive room, Laura trifled through a box marked, May 2010, trying to find the correct newspaper, pleased to have not run into any revenge-filled spirits this time.

May 18th, 2010, she flicked through the pages quickly, almost tearing them as she hurriedly tried to find the right one. She stopped, her stomach giving a little jolt when she spotted a photo of Carmilla. She smiled at Laura from the page, she looked as Laura knew her now, beautiful as ever, her hair was up messily on her head and one of her perfect eyebrows was raised. It was clear a second person had been cropped from the image, Carmilla was inclined in a way that suggested she had her arm wrapped around someone. Laura stared at the photograph for few seconds longer before she started reading the article. 

_It has been reported that late on Monday night,_

_the body of Carmilla Karnstein, 24, was found - dead in her own home,_

_believed to be shot to death after reports of gun-fire in the apartment_

_building. As alleged, police have determined the death as suspicious_

_and an investigation is underway. It remains undetermined at this_

_time whether any suspects are…_

Laura glanced around the stack, making sure she was alone and then ripped the page from the newspaper before continuing her search, grabbing another box labelled, January 2011 and hunting for another.

_Karnstein Murder Mystery Remains Unsolved_

_After several months of investigation, the murder of 24-year-old_

_Carmilla Karnstein, who was found shot to death in the own_

_apartment, remains unsolved. Police are urging anybody who_

_may have any information to come forward. Miss Betty Spielsdorf,_

_neighbour, has gone on record stating, Karnstein was ‘quiet and_

_kept to herself…_

Laura left the archive room with several articles and a lot to think about. Carmilla’s murder was still left unsolved… was that why Carmilla was haunting her bedroom? Laura wasn’t sure how she could possibly solve the case, if the professionals hadn’t been able to and Carmilla couldn’t remember…

What if she did solve the case… That would mean Carmilla would move on, Laura didn’t want to think about that. 

*

 Laura yawned, as she entered the apartment that evening and slowly made her way to her bedroom. She couldn’t help but smile when she spotted Carmilla had returned to her usual spot in the window and she didn’t feel so tired anymore.

“Carm… you’re back,” She said, almost with surprise.

Carmilla glanced up from her book, “Didn’t realise I’d left,” she responded, distantly.

Laura sat down on the edge of her bed to remove her shoes, “Well… I missed you,” She said, honestly.

Carmilla was silent and Laura looked up quickly thinking she’d gone and disappeared again but she was still there. She was staring at Laura, her expression unreadable. Laura half smiled at her, trying to be friendly and then Carmilla spoke with a raised brow, “Missed me? Cupcake, you’ve barely had time to miss me.”

“Um… ” Laura pushed some hair behind her ear. She was having trouble reading Carmilla, she wasn’t sure if she was angry or being pleasant, well… as pleasant as Carmilla could be.

“Where’s your girlfriend tonight?” She’s angry, definitely angry.

Laura sighed, standing, moving over to her desk to boot up her laptop, taking some notes and articles from her bag, busying herself.

“Danny is not my girlfriend.” Laura said, a little irritated. What was Carmilla’s problem? 

Carmilla scoffed, “That’s not the impression I got.”

Laura looked up at Carmilla, she was glaring out of the window, down at the street below. 

 “What are you even-” Laura sighed, sitting heavily in her chair. “If you must know, I don’t think me and Danny are well… companionable.”

Laura heard Carmilla’s book snap shut.

“Why?” Carmilla asked without missing a beat, Laura looked up toward her, she was looking at her intently.

Laura hadn’t been expecting that question from Carmilla, why was she so interested? She didn’t even like Danny.

“It’s just…” Laura shook her head, “It didn’t feel- I mean, even when we kissed it was like… there wasn’t that spark, you know?”

Carmilla’s brow furrowed in contemplation and she shrugged, “Been a while since I’ve kissed anyone, Cupcake.”

Laura looked up at Carmilla upon hearing those words and suddenly felt very guilty, “Oh…Carmilla, I’m so sorry, I never even thought…”

“Hey, it’s not-” Carmilla started.

“No, I shouldn’t be complaining about such petty things when-” she gestured to Carmilla and then shook head. “We’re friends now, right?”

 Carmilla went to respond, Laura didn’t give her a chance, “I don’t mean to be inconsiderate, Carm-”

“Laura.” 

Laura paused at the sound of her name, unusual but oddly pleasant sounding coming from Carmilla.

“You don’t need to walk on egg shells around me, I’m not going to get offended-”

“What?! It happens all the time!” Laura laughed at the absurdity of Carmilla’s words.

“No, it do-”

“Carmilla, come here,” Laura cut in.

She didn’t move, “What?”

“Come here,” Laura repeated, standing up.

Carmilla’s brow furrowed but she stood from the window seat, dropping her book down and took a few steps towards her.

Laura was mildly surprised Carmilla had actually stood up at all and didn’t just roll her eyes and go back to reading.

Laura closed the distance between them, Carmilla looked a little taken aback as Laura drew nearer. She wrapped her arms around Carmilla’s neck in a firm hug. After a moment, she felt Carmilla’s arms encircle her waist, hugging her back.

“So, when was the last time you hugged someone then?” Laura asked into Carmilla’s ear.

She heard Carmilla suck in an unnecessary breath before she spoke, “I never really made a habit of embracing people while I was alive so… a _very_ long time…” 

They stayed like that for a moment or so, Laura noted the way Carmilla hugged her quite tightly, she didn’t really feel like letting go but Laura let her arms fall away.

“I-um-” She stumbled on her words, Carmilla hands remained lightly gripping her waist. “… I’m going to go grab something to eat,” she said, taking a step toward the door and then sucking in a deep breath. “Carm, I was thinking… if you’d like to join me, I mean, I was going to watch Buffy later… um and I know that you, um…” 

“Sure,” Carmilla nodded, silencing Laura’s rambling and taking her seat again, book in hand.  Laura looked at Carmilla for a moment longer and then nodded with a smile, turning and leaving the room 

*

 Laura reached over and silenced her alarm, she lay still, face mashed into her pillow. She sulked, trying to remember her dream, it had been an enjoyable one, although she was unable to recall the specifics now.

What day is it? Tuesday… she had an article to finish, she had a meeting with Kirsch, Danny… she needed to speak with Danny today, her stomach squirmed, she didn’t want to leave her bed.

 “You’re going to be late,” came a voice beside her, Carmilla’s voice.

Laura turned over quickly, bumping right into Carmilla who lay beside her, leaning against the headboard, turning a page casually in her book.

“Carm…” Laura whispered, a little surprised.

 She tried to recall the events of the night before, she must have fallen asleep again while they were watching the show together.

“I switched it off… when you fell asleep,” Carmilla spoke as she read. 

“Oh… thanks,” Laura stretched, letting her eyes fall shut again. 

“Get up, Creampuff,” Carmilla said again.

Laura grumbled, “Hmm, I am.”

She didn’t move. If anything, it was harder for Laura to get up now that she knew Carmilla was lying next to her.

“Laura,” Carmilla had spoken right into her ear.

She sat up quickly, “Jeez, Carm,” she sucked in a breath and Carmilla chuckled. “I was just about to get up.”

“Sure,” Carmilla replied.

Laura dragged herself out of bed, turning and pulling at the sheets, “I can’t make the bed if you’re lying on it.”

Carmilla glanced up at her with a smirk, “When have you _ever_ made the bed?”

“ _Hey_ , I make the bed… sometimes,” Laura frowned, giving up and moving over to the window, glancing out and wondering if this heatwave would ever come to an end, turning to voice her concerns to Carmilla.

“Don’t you just-” She paused, Carmilla had risen from the bed and she was staring down at something on Laura’s desk.

 Laura took a step in her direction.

“This is _me_ …” Carmilla said quietly, her finger tracing along her photo on the piece of ripped newspaper.

“Oh yeah, I’ve sort of been um… researching your death,” Laura said, approaching the desk slowly, she wasn’t sure what Carmilla’s reaction would be to this news. 

“It’s unsolved…” Laura said, reaching down to the sheets and finding some of the newer articles.

“Seven years,” Carmilla mumbled as she read, “ _Seven_ , it feels like longer." 

Laura eyed Carmilla carefully, she could only imagine how strange it must be to read about your own death in this way.

“Well, you have me now, Carm, at least you’re not alone anymore,” she said, reaching out and grabbing her hand and holding it with both of hers.

Carmilla’s eyes left the papers, landing on their joined hands and then up to Laura’s face.

“Worth it,” Carmilla said almost inaudibly, she smiled as she spoke, a smile which disappeared as their eyes met.

Laura swallowed, Carmilla looked at her so attentively, as if she was trying to memorise Laura’s features, she felt her heart rate pick up. The moment stretched on… and neither one of them had moved or spoken a word.

She took an unsteady breath, parting her lips which drew Carmilla’s attention.

This tension all became too much for Laura and so, she did what she did best and said the first thing that came to mind.

“Carm, can you think of anyone who might have wanted to murder you?”


	7. The Storm

“Carm, can you think of anyone who might have wanted to murder you?”

 They were both silent for a moment and then Carmilla’s gaze flickered back up to Laura’s eyes and a hopeless look graced her face for a few seconds before she momentarily closed her eyes, stepped away from Laura and back down at the articles on the desk.

 “You’re going to be late for work,” Carmilla repeated, sounding a little dejected, staring at the same spot on the desk.

 Laura sucked in a breath, staring at Carmilla for a moment and then a feeling of anger started to creep through her suddenly as Carmilla ignored her question.

 “So… you’re not going to tell me,” Laura said, trying and failing to sound calm and collected. “Carm, _how_ can I _help_ you-”

 “Oh, _this again_ ,” Carmilla said, angrily turning to face her now, gripping the top of Laura’s desk chair tightly, “Laura, do you _really_ want me gone _that_ desperately?”

 “No, of course not-” Laura responded quickly, frowning sadly at the mere thought.

 “Then, what’s with all this…?” Carmilla said, grabbing up some of the ripped newspapers, they scrunched up in her ghostly hand. Some of the items on Laura’s desk began to almost vibrate and a book fell to the floor. Carmilla was angry.

 “I’m just trying to do the _right thing_ , Carmilla! _You said it yourself_ , how is it I just _happened_ to move into the apartment, _the very bedroom_ that you occupy? You _need_ my help and I’m going to help you whether you want it or _not_!” Laura said, breathing a lot heavier than normal, feeling very warm.

 To Laura’s surprise, Carmilla did not bite back with an angry response, she stared at Laura, still looking cross and then the vibrations stopped and she dropped the papers back on to the desk.

 Laura continued, “Carm, I- I would never want to-”

 “You need to go,” she said, quietly, obvious annoyance evident in her voice. She walked around Laura to the window and stared out.

 Laura looked over at the clock on her desk, she would definitely be late for work, she turned for the closet and then whipped back around to Carmilla again, she couldn’t help herself, “We’re going to talk about this when I get back, so don’t go disape-”

 “There’s someone down there,” Carmilla said, leaning closer to the window and silencing Laura.

 “Of course there’s someone down there…” Laura said, frowning at the back of Carmilla’s head, assuming she was yet again trying to change the subject of the conversation.

 Carmilla rolled her eyes, and moved away from the window, giving Laura space to look out, “There, look.”

 Laura huffed, stuck between grabbing clothes and getting ready for work or joining Carmilla at the window.

 With a shake of her head, she stamped across to the window and scowled down into the street.

 With a little, “Oh,” Laura’s eyebrows rose and a look of surprise appeared on her face.

Down in the street below, a person was glowing unnaturally. They appeared to look down at the watch on their arm and then shook their head in apparent confusion. They then held the watch up near their ear as if they were listening for the tick of the clockwork and shook their head again.

 “Oh crap, I’m definitely going to be late for work,” Laura moaned, banging her head miserably on the glass window pane.

 She had dressed in a hurry, not bothering to say goodbye to Carmilla (she was still angry), realising only when she stepped out of her apartment building that she had thrown on a shirt with an orange soup stain. She rubbed at it aggressively, not that would make any difference and almost walked into a passer-by on a bike who swerved to miss her and then rode straight into the ghostly figure, through them and then disappeared down the street. The ghost, Laura could now see, was a short stumpy woman with reddish hair, she looked momentarily surprised at the “collision” and then looked to be straightening her clothes as if they had been ruffled by the incident.

 She paid absolutely no attention to Laura… but she obviously waiting for someone.

 Laura thought it best to get this over with, she was late enough as it was so approached the lady. She had been no older then 65, Laura guessed, when she had died. She was wearing a rather unappealing green skirt and an obviously homemade knitted jacket did not help the look any.

 “Hi there,” Laura began with a friendly wave. “Need any help?”

 The woman stopped picking imaginary lint of off her skirt and looked up at Laura, curiously.

 “I’ve had this watch for 20 years you know! _20 years_ and now it’s gone all _haywire_! And before you enquire, it’s not the battery, I replaced that only months ago! I’ll never find another like this, really, I can’t believe-” She rambled on, shaking her wrist around. Laura eyes opened wide.

 And people called _her_ a rambler?

 Laura considered just walking away, a thought had occurred to her that maybe this woman didn’t realise she was dead… and Laura _really_ didn’t want to be the one to disclose the bed news.

 “Is every- Is everything okay?” Laura yelled over the short woman’s rambling.

 She peered at Laura again and then down at her watch again, “Well, I must say I haven’t had the best week and I know I really shouldn’t complain but I’m really reaching the end of my tether.”

 “What’s your name?” Laura asked quickly, before the ghost could start rambling again.

 “My name? Molly, of course.” She spoke as if Laura should have already known such a thing.

 “Right, yes, of course,” Laura forced a smile, deciding to break the news. “I can help you, Molly, you do know, right? That you’re…dead?”

 “Well… Like I said, bad week. Bad week, indeed.” Molly shook her head as if to clear it of some bad memories and then began to eye Laura warily. “So… I suppose you’re her?”

 Laura wasn’t sure how to respond, what she’d really like to do would be to say no and walk away.

 “I’m not sure, am I?” Laura asked, quizzically.

 “You’re the mediator? The shifter?” Molly said adding, “You must be.”

 Laura deflated, feeling suddenly anxious. It was happening again. She knew of course, that it would only be matter of time before word started to spread amongst the dead of her special gift but she had hoped for just a little more peace before every ghost in Styria started to descend on her all at once. 

“Mediator, yes that’s me… What can I help you with?” Laura said, trying her best to sound friendly and welcoming. She didn’t have the time to get on the wrong side of a spirit today, even if this lady looked like she really wouldn’t hurt a fly.

It occurred to Laura all of a sudden that if anyone were to drive by or take a peek out of their window, they would see her talking to herself, she looked around self-consciously, her face reddening. It wouldn’t be the first time that had happened.

 “Well, there is one thing you could do for me, if you don’t mind, you see, I left a letter for my son. I wrote it before I died, it’s rather important,” Molly said, “But I never got the chance to give it to him. It was all rather… sudden in the end."

Laura smiled at the ghost, she was sweet, unlike Carmilla, she looked up toward her bedroom window, remembering the disagreement, she couldn’t see into the apartment but she had a feeling Carmilla was watching her.

 “A Letter for your son, of course I’ll help you, what’s your son’s name, Molly?” Laura said, walking over and tapping the ghost friendly on the arm, almost in a ‘lead the way’ sort of gesture.

 The smile that appeared on Molly’s face was so joyful that Laura, for a second, wondered why she had ever tried to give up the gift that had been bestowed upon her.

 Molly started to ramble again, only this time not about her wristwatch but her son, who she was obviously endlessly proud of. It was a few good minutes before Laura was able to slip in the question of the letters whereabouts.

 “Yes! Yes! The letter… now where did I leave it…? You know it’s either in the car, it could have slipped between the seats or I might have left it in my purse, my _red purse_! No, wait… my green purse…”

 Laura arrived two and a half hours late for work, after breaking and entering into Molly’s home and searching for the letter for an hour and a half. The letter it turned out, wasn’t anywhere Molly had suggested and had turned up hidden inside a picture frame, Laura left the letter out on the table for Molly’s son to find and hurried to work. She was accosted by Danny as soon she had sat down at her desk.

 “Laura, where have you been? I called you 7 times!” Danny said, voice full of concern.

 Laura’s eyes widened, she hadn’t had time to think up a lie, “Family emergency,” she said, trying to look forlorn.

 “What… family?” Danny frowned, knowing perfectly well the only family Laura had was her father and he lived on the other side of the country.

Laura felt herself flush as she muttered something about a long-lost aunt and excused herself to the bathroom. 

*

“Hey LaF,” Laura said, collapsing on the couch next to them as she returned from work, later than usual as she had tried to make up for her lost hours.

 LaF who was watching tv, appeared to be deeply engrossed in a documentary, they held up their finger as if to silence Laura, the narrator spoke, _And legend says that man… was a time traveller._ LaF then paused the show and turned to focus on Laura.

 “Have you eaten? Perry left you something in the fridge. Are you okay?” LaF said, looking slightly concerned. Laura thought she _must_ look like crap for LaF to show concern for her appearance.

 “I… I broke things off with Danny today,” Laura said as she strode into the kitchen, LaF hot on her heels.

 “How’d it go?” They asked with interest.

 “Oh, surprisingly well. Danny’s so…understanding. It made things worse.” Laura sighed.

 “Well, what did you say?”

 “I just – I told her I decided I wasn’t really looking for a relationship right now… even after- after I told her, she still offered to help me with my research… I feel so ashamed.” Laura said, sadly, turning for the fridge.

 “Research?” LaF asked, looking mildly interested.

 “Um… yes, just work… nothing…” Laura moved over to the kitchen door, peering down the hallway to her bedroom, the door was slightly ajar, she stepped out further to see if she could spot Carmilla, the room was in darkness.

 “What are you doing?” LaFontaine was peeking over her shoulder, down the hall also, trying to see what was so interesting.

 Laura shook her head and released a breath, returning and grabbing her plate of pasta from the fridge.

“Have you read it yet?” Came another question from LaF.

 “Hmm?” Laura asked, distracted as she tried to work out the controls on the microwave.

 “The book, L, the book I gave you,” LaF asked, insistently.

 "Oh… no, sorry LaF, I’ve been super busy, you know with work and everything-,”

 “Read it, L,” They said, “You don’t even know what you’re capabl-“ LaFontaine paused, their eyebrows drawing together, “Do you hear that?”

 Laura looked round at LaF and then around the apartment, listening hard. It sounded like… but it couldn’t be…

 “Is that _rain_?” Laura smiled at the thought, sprinting over to the window.

 Darkness seemed to have settled quickly over Styria as a blanket of grey clouds covered the sky. The rain picked up as Laura stared out, she hadn’t seen rain since before she had moved to Styria, LaF joined her with a satisfied sort of nod. The rain began to lash hard against the window, almost hitting and the window and bouncing off and the frame creaked as the wind picked up and pushed against the glass.

 “Finally…” Laura said, quietly. A good storm is just what they needed.

 As that thought occurred to her, the rumbling of thunder began, stirring a little at first and then erupting in a booming sound, as if directly above the apartment building. This was quickly followed by a flash of lighting so bright, Laura winced and turned away as it seemed to sear itself to her eyeballs and then the rain seemed to come down even harder.

 LaFontaine chuckled, “I think I’ll forgo that trip to Perry’s this evening,” They pulled out their phone and wandered away to speak to Perry in private.

 Laura returned to the kitchen and sat down with her food, listening happily to the sound of the rain and thunder as it roared above them. After a few moments, Laura shivered, there was a chill in the air now, her mind first wandered to something untoward, it had to be an unfriendly spirit or something of that nature. She glanced around quickly and the apartment seemed quiet but the chill lingered still, Laura stood up.

 She peered down the hall at her partially open bedroom door, the lightening flashing outside lit up what she could see of her bedroom and the window was open wide. She shook her head and headed into the room, Carmilla wasn’t there, as she had expected. 

The wind was blowing the thin open curtain away from the window, the storm seemed to rage harder in here.

 Laura moved across the room quickly to close the window, hopping up to kneel on the window seat but unexpectedly catching her knee on the seat with a thump. The seat seemed to move up a little as if it was coming away and dropped back down in a clatter.

  _Oww_! Laura fell back onto the floor, clutching at her knee as it pained her for a moment and then scowled at window seat as if it was its fault.

 What happened? Was the seat broken?

 She leaned forward, grabbed the edge of the seat and pulled it up. Laura gaped in shock for a moment, the seat wasn’t broken at all, in fact it wasn’t just seat, there was a compartment hidden under the window. Not only was there a compartment but it was full of stuff.

 She stared down into the space, glancing at all of the items in bewilderment.

Most prominent were lots of book which looked well read, Laura glanced around the room and then reached and grabbed up a book from the top of the pile, it was entitled _Shadowland_ , Laura looked at it for a moment before placing it down next to her and grabbed another, _Ninth Key_. She flipped through it, disinterestedly and then was a little taken aback when a something popped out of the book and landed on the floor.

 A photograph.

 Laura reached down for it, turning it over as she picked it up and she stared at the photograph, she recognised it, half of it at least. She’d seen this photograph before, in the Silas newspapers.

 Carmilla smiled up at her but this time her arm was wrapped snuggly around another girl, a very pretty woman with dark blondish hair and a small mole on her right cheek. The other half of the photo.

 She suited Carmilla, Laura thought, they were both beautiful. She noticed as she continued to stare at the photograph that it was taken in this apartment, she recognised the window in the background of the image. Who was this woman? Laura couldn’t help feeling a little envious of her, to have known Carmilla when she was still alive.

Lightening suddenly flashed outside and the rain lashed harder against the glass and Laura looked up at window, standing and finally pulling it closed.

 She kneeled in front of the window once more and began to pull more things from the compartment, there were a few more books, some old cds (artists Laura had never heard of), an old broken camera, a jewellery box that Laura couldn’t open, some old tickets that she guessed held some sentimental value to Carmilla and then more photographs were hidden at the very bottom.

 Laura was most interested in these, there were lots of photographs of Carmilla with this girl and lots photographs of people Laura did not recognise. She stared at each one, carefully trying to discern as much information about Carmilla’s past life as she could, not that these photographs gave anything away. And then quite unexpectedly, Laura found herself staring down at a photograph of Wilson Kirsch.

 “That’s quite a storm, I used to lo- oh…” Carmilla was stood behind her, staring down at the items on the floor looking uncomfortable.

 “ _Carm!_ ” Laura moved quickly to her feet, “I found- I- Carm… what is all of this? I didn’t even know this was here,” she said, pointing at the seat. 

Carmilla shrugged with a look of acceptance, “Neither did anyone else.”

 “This stuff, it all belongs to you?” Laura asked, already knowing what the answer would be.

 Carmilla nodded, “ _Belonged…_ would be the correct term.”

 “I’ll just…” Laura knelt down and started placing items back into the compartment as the storm still raged outside the window.

 “What are you doing?” Carmilla asked with a confused frown.

 “Well, I’m putting your things back,” Laura said, casually.

 “You’re just going to put it all back?”

 Laura frowned, turning to look at Carmilla, “Of course! What did you think I’d do? Throw it all out?”

 Carmilla just shook her head and looked a little shocked, “I wasn’t sure… thank you.”

 “No problem, Carm,” Laura said as she put the last of the items back and then stood to face her.

 Laura held the photo of Carmilla and the unnamed woman in her hand. She was too intrigued not to ask.

 She held the photo out toward Carmilla, “Who is that?”

 Carmilla stared at the photo, her mouth opened but no words came out. She took a step back as if to escape the conversation and then spoke quietly.

 “That’s… she’s an old friend,” she said, uncomfortably.

 “Well, you two look very … _cozy_ ,” Laura responded with a forced smile, feeling her voice sounded a little too enthusiastic, as she attempted to act as if she was not by bothered by the image in her hand.

 Carmilla exhaled, “Her name is Ell, she was an old girlfriend, we broke up not long before…” She frowned, “I don’t really remember.”

 Laura was suddenly feeling an overwhelming sensation of jealously at the thought of someone being Carmilla’s girlfriend. Being able to take cutesy photos like the one in her hand, she stared down at it, she would never be able to take a photo like this with Carmilla, she was almost certain she wouldn’t even show up in a photograph if she tried.

 Laura swallowed a lump in her throat, wishing she hadn’t asked about the photo, wishing she’d never seen it. She turned and dropped the photograph into the compartment and lowered the window seat back down.

 She didn’t want to ask but she also couldn’t stop herself from doing so, “Why did you break up?”

 Carmilla frowned down at the floor, she shook her head and Laura knew she wasn’t going to answer, maybe she couldn’t remember the answer.

 Instead, Carmilla chose to say something that Laura would never have expected to hear.

 “Laura, I’m sorry…” Carmilla said quickly as if it were now or never, “… this morning, I never should of behaved, I couldn’t- I don’t know why I was so angry…”

 “Carm,” Laura giggled in surprise, she couldn’t stop herself from moving closer and gripping the top of Carmilla’s arms so she would finally look at her, “You are so... sweet.”

 Carmilla eyebrows drew together as if she wasn’t sure she liked the idea of being called sweet.

 “… and you’re-“ Laura stopped herself from saying a number of other things, like perfect and stunning.

 “…stupid.”

 Carmilla frowned then and Laura pulled her in for a hug, “I care about you, Carm, a lot and I’m going to help you whether you want it or not.”

 Laura hoped she sounded convincing, she didn’t feel so sure of herself. The more she thought of solving Carmilla’s case and freeing her from this place, the worse she felt about the whole idea.

Carmilla’s arms came up around Laura’s shoulders and Laura was almost sure she felt Carmilla’s lips touch the top of her head.


	8. Question Time

“Carm, have you always enjoyed reading or was it something you took up after…you know,” Laura asked, shoving her laptop aside, grabbing another cookie from the bedside table and turning sideways to look at Carmilla as she read on the bed beside her.

 “Do you always chew so loudly?” Carmilla responded quietly, casually turning a page in her book.

 Laura rolled her eyes with an almost smile, “Are you envious because I’m eating cookies and you can’t?” She asked, unperturbed, trying to get a little rise out of Carmilla or any response at all would be nice.

 “I wouldn’t have eaten those while I was alive,” Carmilla replied, looking across at Laura for the first time since the conversation had begun. “I do miss coffee though,” She said, absentmindedly, turning back to her book.

 Laura frowned, she wanted Carmilla’s attention on her, not the book.

 “Why? Caffeine would have no effect-” Laura started, rambling, anything to get Carmilla to respond to her.

 "Yes, well I still miss it,” she said, shortly, appearing completely uninterested in keeping the conversation going.

 “What else do you miss?” Laura asked, quickly.

She usually enjoyed comfortable silence with Carmilla, especially now she had decided to seat herself right next to Laura on her bed more often than not. But now, Laura found herself much more interested in Carmilla than her usual distractions. 

 She found, tonight in particular, that she couldn’t stop her attention from being drawn to Carmilla. Only once in the past two hours when Laura had flickered her eyes to Carmilla’s face had she found Carmilla already staring back at her, Laura had blushed and quickly looked away.

 Carmilla looked over at Laura now with a rather judging look, “What else do I miss?” She repeated Laura’s question back to her and Laura felt a twinge of guilt, maybe that wasn’t such an appropriate question to ask a ghost.

 Carmilla sucked in an unnecessary breath and focused her attention fully on Laura now, “Oh, I miss _lots_ of things,” she said with a smirk that made Laura’s stomach clench.

 Laura swallowed, she wanted to ask so much what those things were but she found herself unable to and was left subsequently staring at Carmilla as she glowed like a ghostly angel on the bed next to her.

 “You’ve crushed your cookie,” Carmilla said, looking towards Laura’s hand.

 Upon inspection, Laura saw that, yes, she had in fact crushed the cookie in her hand as she had been staring at Carmilla.

 Embarrassed and holding a handful of crushed cookie and melting chocolate chips, Laura quickly stumbled to her feet, “I’ll just…” she said, blushing as she left the room to wash her hand.

 When she returned, Carmilla’s attention has returned once again to her book and Laura wasn’t sure whether she should try and capture it again, god forbid she did something else to embarrass herself. Instead, Laura decided to get ready for bed, grabbing some pyjamas and heading for the bathroom again.

Carmilla didn’t budge or even so much as look at Laura as she climbed into bed next to her, pulling at the sheets as she tried to dislodge some from under Carmilla. Laura paused as she reached to turn off her bedside lamp.

 “I can read in the dark,” Carmilla said, quietly, before Laura had even had a chance to ask whether she should leave the light on or not.

 Maybe she is paying some attention to me, Laura thought, privately. “Oh okay, well goodnight,” She spoke out loud, rolling onto her side, facing away from Carmilla.

 “Goodnight, Cupcake,” Carmilla responded.

 Laura lay perfectly still, eyes wide, staring straight ahead, she’d never felt so awake in all of her life. Yes, this wasn’t the first time she had slept next to Carmilla but it was the first time she had done so intentionally. Usually she fell asleep by mistake and it was a happy surprise to wake up next to Carmilla but now they were saying goodnight to one another and Carmilla wouldn’t even sleep so she would just be awake next to her _all_ night. Laura also didn’t miss the return of the nickname which Carmilla hadn’t used since before their argument the other day.

 A very quiet moment passed and Laura noted she hadn’t heard Carmilla turn a page in her book for a while.

 “Laura?” Carmilla spoke right into her ear.

 Laura sucked in a breath quickly, “ _Carm_ , what the-” She turned just enough so see Carmilla’s outline hovering closely next to her.

 “You weren’t breathing,” Carmilla said, Laura couldn’t really see her expression in the dark but she thought, knowing Carmilla, she was probably smirking.

 Had she been holding her breath and not realized it?

 “Well, I’m breathing now you scared the crap out of me,” Laura said with an embarrassed huff, sitting up, feeling very warm.

 Carmilla chuckled and Laura was certain if she could see her, she would be rolling her eyes.

 Laura was quite surprised when Carmilla’s arm suddenly wrapped around her shoulder and gave her a little squeeze, almost like an apology.

 Except after moment or so, she didn’t remove her arm like she expected her too and Laura awkwardly tried to relax back against it, slowly letting her head fall onto Carmilla’s shoulder.

 Carmilla, from what Laura could see, appeared to be as relaxed as ever, she was holding up her book with one hand, reading and the thumb of her other slowly started to rub little circles down Laura’s arm.

 Laura allowed herself to relax further into Carmilla’s embrace, her heart was beating quite erratically, she wouldn’t be surprised if Carmilla noticed.

 They were silent for a moment and then Carmilla spoke, “Would you like me to read you to sleep?”

 That was possibly the most appealing thing Laura had ever heard, she had to restrain herself from immediately yelling, _yes_.

 Laura cleared her throat quietly, glancing sideways at Carmilla, whose jawline was a mere inch away, “Erm… I- I mean… if you’d like,” Laura blushed, trying her best to sound unbothered, although she was almost certain she sounded anything but.

  _“The fair girl went on her knees, and bent over me, fairly gloating. There was a deliberate voluptuousness which was both thrilling and repulsive, and as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal, till I could see in the moonlight the moisture shining on the scarlet and red tongue as it…”_ Carmilla read, eloquently.

 Laura was suddenly finding it hard to breath, she had no idea what Carmilla was reading but it certainly wasn’t the sort of reading material that was likely to put her to sleep. She tried to swallow down a lump in her throat and focus on trying to fall asleep.

 And Carmilla continued, unaware of the thoughts running through Laura’s mind, _“Then the skin of my throat began to tingle as one’s flesh does when the hand that is to tickle it approaches nearer, nearer. I could feel the soft, shivering touch of the lips on the supersensitive skin of my throat…”_

“Actually-” Laura said, louder than she had intended, she needed to put a stop to this now, “I’ll think I’ll manage without,” she said, breathlessly.

 Carmilla stopped reading aloud, looked down at Laura in the dark, with a smile and made a little amused sounding huff. Laura chewed her lip, she guessed Carmilla had read that specific part aloud because she knew it would make Laura an awkward mess. Laura tried to smile back but feared she probably looked pained rather than pleasant.

 She expected Carmilla to move her arm any moment, she was waiting with bated breath for Carmilla to push her away so she could breathe easy once more… but she didn’t move an inch. Her thumb continued its little journey up and down her arm and Laura squeezed her eyes tightly closed, wishing tiredness would come… anything to end this delightful torture.

 “Erm… Goodnight,” Laura said, opening her eyes and looking sideways at Carmilla’s cheek bone.

 Carmilla did nothing but give her arm a little squeeze. Was she going to pull away?

 Nothing.

 There’s absolutely no way she would ever be able to sleep now with Carmilla embracing her like this.

 She sat still for a moment, trying to calm her rampant heartbeat, noticing Carmilla’s breath tickling her cheek, she frowned in thought. Carmilla was dead, she didn’t need to breathe.

 “Carm, why are you breathing?” Laura whispered into the dark.

 At her question, Carmilla’s breathing immediately ceased and then after a moment, she spoke.

 “I suppose it’s a habit more than anything,” Carmilla murmured in response, “I still have a sense of smell, taste, not so much I don’t think.”

 Laura could feel Carmilla’s gaze on her now, “For example, you smell…” She thought she felt Carmilla’s nose touch her hairline, she wondered if she imagined it. “…unsurprisingly, rather sweet.”

 In fact, Laura wondered whether this was all a dream… if it was a dream… she could do anything she wanted… right?

Without giving it so much as a second thought, Laura reached over and wrapped her arm securely around Carmilla’s waist and sighed. It was only seconds later when Laura realised, there was no way this could be dream… she could never dream up anything as perfect as this.

 Laura closed her eyes, she didn’t check to see Carmilla’s reaction but then she felt Carmilla’s grip tighten on her and she took a deep breath.

 The last thing Laura remembered thinking was that Carmilla hadn’t turned a page in her book for a _very_ long time… 

*

 When Laura awoke, it was in very much the same position in which she had fallen asleep, except Carmilla had lost her book at some point and now was delightfully running her fingers through her hair and whispering for her wake up.

 Laura stretched with a groan, this is the most delightful way to wake up.

 “I can only imagine…”

 Carmilla’s words confused Laura momentarily in her sleepy haze, and then she froze, realizing she must have spoken aloud.

 She sat up half way, they both stared at one another, only separated by a very short distance. Carmilla was wearing a rather serious look, which was a change from the smirk Laura was so used to seeing. Neither one of them looked away and the moment stretched on and on.

 The shrill sound of Laura’s morning alarm made her gasp and move across the bed to silence it, hurriedly. “I… have work,” Laura said, hardly bothering to conceal her displeasure.

*

 Laura poked her head around Kirsch’s office door, he was sitting at his desk, trying to attach a large lens to his camera. He looked up and smiled, a toothy grin when he noticed her.

 “Hey, Laura,” Laura was almost certain he had just winked at her.

 “Hi Kirsch, do you have a minute?” Laura asked, taking a seat opposite, noticing Kirsch’s eyes linger on her owl t-shirt and regretting her choice of wardrobe today, it was difficult grabbing clothes quickly in the dark.

“Anything for you, Hollis,” He said, as he started packing his camera away.

 “Would you mind- I was wondering if you could tell me- did you know Carmilla Karnstein?” Laura finished her sentence in a rush.

 He paused and looked up, his smile disappearing.

 He nodded slowly, “I did…We used to… run in the same circles you know, I met Carmilla at college, she fancied herself a photographer as well,” he added with an almost reminiscent smile. “Why? Are you… researching the case?”

 “Something like that,” Laura said with a shrug. “Did you know her well?”

 Kirsch looked a tad uncomfortable but he soldiered on, “Like I said, we had the same friends… we hung out a fair few times.”

 Laura couldn’t stop herself from asking the next question, “Kirsch, did you ever meet a girl named, Ell?”

 Kirsch fiddled with his camera bag and looked thoughtful for a moment and gave a little shrug.

 She continued, “Carmilla’s girlfriend.”

 “Ohh, you mean the chick she was always with… yeah they were close, I thought she was kinda clingy but Karnstein didn’t seem to mind,” Kirsch said with a nod. “I remember, she asked me not long before… she asked me whether I knew if Carmilla was seeing somebody else.”

 “And was she?” Laura sat forward.

 Kirsch shook his head, “No idea.”

 Laura frowned, “Is she- Do you know where I might find her?”

 “Who, Ell? No, I haven’t seen her since…Why would you want to?” He looked up at her questioningly.

 Laura didn’t answer.

 “They never found who…?” Laura didn’t feel that she needed to finish the sentence.

 Kirsch looked down at his desk for a moment before he responded.

 “No… they never did.”

 “You don’t have any ideas, do you?” Laura asked, hopefully.

 “Laura, I don’t know whether you’ve been assigned this or something but it’s been _years_... years and even the folks back then, no one could work it out, no one had a clue what happened. It’s an unsolvable case.” Kirsch said, with a nod of finality. “I’d give it up, you’re just a reporter.”

 Laura nodded and ran a hand through her hair, little did Kirsch know she was so much more than that.

 “Thanks, Kirsch,” she said, slowly getting up to leave. Give it up? Give up was the very last thing Laura was going to do. 

*

 Laura heard frantic conversation as she closed the apartment door that evening, it was LaFontaine… and Perry. She paused momentarily, she didn’t really want to walk in on an argument if she could help it. She considered turning back and making a swift exit but then she picked up on what Perry was saying.

 “ _Ghosts_? Why would I believe a _crazy thing_ like that!?” Perry said, shrilly.

 “Because it’s true!” LaFontaine responded, shortly.

 Laura shook her head, LaF had told Perry. She thought it was best she make her presence known sooner rather than later, she made some loud sounds, kicking off her shoes and fiddling with her bag.

 “LaFontaine! I have _no_ idea what you’re trying to-“

  _“Laura!”_ LaF yelled as if the saviour had arrived. They breathed a sigh of relief.

 “Hi guys…” Laura looked between them both, waiting.

 “Okay, so… I sorta told Perry,” LaF said with a happy sort of shrug.

 Laura’s eyes widened, ” _Why!?_ ”

 “You know I can’t keep things from Perry! I’m proud I was able to hold off for this long…” They started to argue their point.

 Perry started in again, “What are you two up too? I don’t believe a _word_ of this-“ 

“It’s true, Per, you know it is…” Urged LaF, turning back to Perry.

 Laura looked between the two.

  _Ha!_ Perry let out a shrill laugh but she didn’t look as if she found anything funny at all. “I know nothing off the sort-”

 “Perry,” Laura cut her off with a sigh, “It’s true.”

 “Laura-” Perry began.

 “I’m not lying. It’s not some prank or a joke… I can see ghosts, communicate with them. I help them, it’s my job,” Laura admitted, moving from one foot to the other, nervously.

 Perry’s eyes widened and she looked warily at LaFontaine as if for support, as if she thought Laura had lost her mind.

 This was exactly why Laura didn’t want anyone to know!

 “ _No, No_ , I don’t want to hear anymore!” Perry exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

 “There’s a ghost in the apartment,” LaF blurted out as if that fact might help change Perry’s mind or convince her in some way.

 At this, Perry said nothing at all, she shook her head and took a seat, unable to comprehend this conversation any longer.

 “Per, you heard sounds in the apartment before… you told me about it…” LaF said, persuasively.

 “That could have been anything! Neighbours or… burglars!” Perry said, shakily, leaning her face in her hands as if she had just been through a particularly traumatic experience.

 LaF looked at Laura with a smile and shook their head.

 “I’ll make her some tea,” Laura suggested, turning for the kitchen, deciding to give them some space, if Perry was going to listen to anyone, it was LaF.

 She smiled when she noticed Carmilla lingering in her bedroom doorway, watching the scene.

 “Do you want me to scare her?” Carmilla offered.

 “No!” Laura said, reprimandingly, though she couldn’t stop herself from grinning as she looked at Carmilla, as funny as that might be to see, she wasn’t sure Perry could take such a shock. 

*

 Things hadn’t ended well, Perry had stormed out of the apartment, shouting about how she’d had enough and how she wished everyone would just “ _act normal.”_

LaFontaine had followed her out in a rush, leaving Laura alone, well, alone as she could be. Laura paced up and down her bedroom… she stopped, shook her head and started to pace again.

 “Will you _stop_?” Hands landed on Laura’s shoulders and she was forced to stop as she walked into Carmilla.

 “Stop stressing about this… she’ll get used to the idea, just give her time.” Carmilla said, reassuringly. “You should have let me scare her,” she added with a smirk.

 “Carm, she thinks I’m _unstable_ , she’s the only person who knows apart from LaFontaine and _that_ was the reaction! Oh, I’ll have to leave,” Laura said, nodding her head, madly.

 “ _What_?” Carmilla looked aghast at the idea, she gripped Laura’s shoulders a little tighter.

 “Well it’s that or…I can’t leave the apartment ever again. I’m going to be sectioned or something,” Laura meet Carmilla’s gaze with teary eyes.

 “I wouldn’t mind…” Carmilla smiled at her.

 “You wouldn’t mind if I was sectioned?!” Laura said, panicky.

 “No…” Carmilla said calmly, moving her hands down Laura’s arms, “I wouldn’t mind if you never left the apartment.”

 Laura frowned, confused at Carmilla’s odd statement and then started to stress anew, “You don’t know Perry, she refuses to believe this sort of stuff, I’ll have to go if LaFontaine asks me to leave, I won’t have a choice.” A tear slipped down Laura’s face.

 “Laura, before you got here, Curly Sue was in here, cleaning I think. She sensed I was here, she heard me. She told LaF she didn’t like this room and maybe they should stay out of it as well. Oh, she believes, Creampuff.” Carmilla said with a raised eyebrow.

 Carmilla’s thumb came up to wipe away the tear on Laura’s face and she smiled sweetly at her.

 “Really…?” Laura snuffled.

 Carmilla nodded and pushed a piece of hair gently behind Laura’s ear.

 “She might not want to admit it but she knows it’s true,” Carmilla said, quietly, giving Laura a sorry look.

“Thanks, Carm,” Laura released a breath slowly and lay her forehead on Carmilla’s shoulder and Carmilla stroked a hand down Laura’s back in a calming gesture.

 A moment past and Laura started to feel a lot better, LaFontaine would speak to Perry, she’d come around eventually, she just needed time.

 “Carm, can I ask you something?” Laura asked, looking up at her now.

 “Sure,” Carmilla was very close and her mouth was turned up in a little smile and Laura almost forgot her question.

 “When- when you say you don’t remember… what do you mean?” Laura asked, vaguely.

 “What?” Carmilla now gave a little frown of confusion.

 “When you… died,” Laura wished almost immediately that she hadn’t brought it up, when Carmilla’s hands fell away and she took a step back, gaze falling to the floor.

 “I just don’t remember, what more is there to say?” Carmilla said a little defensively.

 “Yes but-”

 “Are you suggesting that I’m lying?” Carmilla questioned.

 “ _No_ , Carm, nothing like that,” Laura said, hurriedly. Repeating, _don’t disappear, don’t disappear_ , over and over again in her head.

 “How much don’t you remember?”

 Carmilla paused and seemed to considering Laura’s question, which gave her some hope.

 “It’s not just my death, I mean, it’s all a sort of blur now but it could be a day, it could be months, I’m not sure, it’s been a long time.” Carmilla said with a shrug.

 Laura nodded, embarrassment was starting to creep in over her little breakdown about Perry and she sat down on the edge of her bed and gave a little overwhelmed laugh.

 “Are you okay, Cupcake?” Looking down at her, expressing a little concern.

 “I’m sorry about all the questions, Carm,” Laura said, rubbing her eyes.

 She felt Carmilla sit down beside her.

 “I don’t mind,” Carmilla replied with a sigh, giving Laura’s knee a pat.

 “You don’t?” Laura looked up, giving Carmilla a hopeful smile.

Carmilla shook her head, gazing at her.

“Oh…” Laura felt a surge of confidence, “Carm, last night… you said… you told me there were lots of things you missed now that you’re… you know… um, so, what else _do_ you miss…?”


	9. Interruptions

“Carm, last night… you said… you told me there were lots of things you missed now that you’re… you know… um, so, what do you miss?”

Carmilla was expressionless for a moment as she seemed to consider Laura’s question and then the corners of her mouth twitched up, as if she was thinking of something she found amusing. The smirk that Laura then received was almost sinful, it was fairly obvious that Carmilla liked this question very much.

 Laura suddenly felt desperate to know what Carmilla was thinking, surely anything that made Carmilla smile like that was worth knowing. She wasn’t far from begging when Carmilla shook her head, almost as if shaking the thoughts from her mind and then gave a little shrug and a look of uncertainty and what Laura was almost sure was a hint of guilt.

 But Laura waited still for Carmilla to say something, anything. The moment stretched on and Carmilla just gazed at her as they sat side by side.

 So, Laura reached for her hand which lay between them, interlocking their fingers and whispered, “ _Tell me_ …” She couldn’t in this moment, even feel embarrassed about how desperate she thought she sounded. She smiled at Carmilla encouragingly.

 Carmilla bit down on her lip as her eyes seemed to flair with emotion for a moment and her head tilted a little closer to Laura’s.

 “Cupcake…” Laura was lost in Carmilla’s deep brown eyes as they neared, she felt dizzy and she found she had to put a lot of effort into listening to her as she spoke.

 “… Why don’t you guess,” Carmilla murmured slowly as she came nearer still.

 It took Laura a second or two to fully grasp what Carmilla had said as her face hovered inches away from her own and she smiled. It didn’t seem like a question Carmilla actually expected a reply from.

 Her eyes slipped closed and she took a shaky breath as Carmilla’s hand came up to her hair, her fingers slipping through it.

 She heard a familiar sound drift through her clouded mind.

 The sound of the apartment door closing… well, that could only mean… LaF was back!

 Laura came too all of a sudden, “Oh... LaF,” she said as she opened her eyes, Carmilla moved away quickly as Laura spoke again, “… I have too-,” she said, looking at Carmilla a little guiltily, gesturing toward her bedroom door. Carmilla gave a nod and a smile that did not reach her eyes and Laura rose and hurried from the room.

 She wasn’t sure whether it was a good or bad thing that LaF had returned home at that exact moment.

 “Well, what happened?” Laura said as soon as she had flung open the bedroom door.

 LaF shook their head, “She won’t listen… give her a day or so, L, she’ll get used to the idea, I’m sure…”

 They looked a little worn out and upset.

 “She doesn’t believe me,” said Laura, with a huff, as she sat heavily on the couch.

 “No, she does, she just doesn’t want to admit it to herself yet, she believed before I did,” LaF sat down beside her.

 “I hope so, she won’t tell anyone, right?” Laura asked, suddenly anxious.

 “Of course not, no, Perry wouldn’t do that anyway, remember, she likes _normal_ ,” LaF said with what looked like a forced smile, Laura could tell they weren’t exactly happy with how things had played out this evening.

 Laura leaned back on the couch peering into her room, she couldn’t see Carmilla in there. Her stomach squirmed a little as she thought about her.

 “Is everything… okay… with… you know?” Laura looked back over at LaF as they spoke and they gestured toward the bedroom.

 Laura wasn’t entirely sure what LaF was referring to, “Yeah… I think so?”

 “Actually,” Laura stood quickly, shaking her head, “I need to just-.”

 She turned for the bedroom as there was a knock on the door which Laura ignored, LaF would get it, it was not likely for her. 

“Carm,” Laura said as she entered the room, she wasn’t there.

 “Carm!” Laura whisper shouted, moving across the room to search as if Carmilla might be hiding somewhere.

 “What? What’s going on?” Carmilla asked, looking a little concerned, she was grasping a red book in her hands, as she appeared from thin air behind Laura.

 Laura pulled the book from her grasp, throwing it away, “Nothing, I just thought we could-”

 “Laura!” LaF called her, “It’s for you!... I think!”

 Laura frowned up at Carmilla, it was for her? Who would come knocking for her? And why was LaF so unsure?

 Laura groaned, “Um…” She wanted to say something to Carmilla, something to make her wait here for her.

 Carmilla stepped aside for Laura to pass, “Go on,” she said with a sigh, her face unreadable.

 She stared at Carmilla for a moment before moving to leave the room, “What do you mean you think it’s for me?” She said as she approached.

 LaF shrugged and pointed toward open the door and Laura understood.

 Stood in the doorway was a ghost.

 A youngish girl with long brown hair, she was wearing jean shorts and light pink tank top, she looked upset, she gave a little ghostly whimper.

 Oh, here we go, just what I needed tonight, Laura thought to herself.

 Laura sighed, “Who are you?”

 The ghost turned to look at her with shock, “Oh thank heavens, at last! I’ve found the right apartment! My name is SJ, I need your help!” she said with a sob, lingering in the doorway.

 Laura sighed, “Why don’t you come in and I’ll see if I can help you out?” She tried to sound welcoming but she felt anything but welcoming right now.

 Laura noticed LaF staring at her and what they could see, which was an empty doorway.

 SJ took a few steps into the apartment towards her.

 “Okay SJ was it?… what can I help you with?” Laura asked as she came over, ushered her into the apartment and closed the door.

 Carmilla had wandered out of the bedroom and was watching them curiously as she leant against the wall and folded her arms, amused by it all.

 “Well, I need my cat to go to a good home,” SJ smiled sadly at Laura.

 “Um… I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” Laura said with a blush, running a hand through her hair, “I couldn’t keep a fish alive when-”

 Laura heard Carmilla chuckle behind her and paused just long enough for SJ to start again.

 " _No not you_!” SJ said with a shake of her head. “My sister! She can look after my Charles. I need you to tell her, collect the cat and tell her?”

 “Oh…” Laura said, feeling both relieved and inconvenienced. “Yeah, I guess I can… do that. Well, where is the cat?”

 It took Laura much longer than she’d have liked to sort SJ’s problem, the cat she found, lived only a few blocks away now scouring the area of the apartments that SJ used to live in but she wasn’t easily caught. Laura spent a good hour trying to become friendly with the cat which wouldn’t come anywhere near her.

 SJ found this very amusing and it was only when SJ herself called the cat in desperation that it approached and Laura mused for a moment that the cat might actually be able to see or sense the ghost of her past owner.

 Then Laura had to convince SJ’s sister, Rosemary to take the cat in. Laura had to pretend to be an old friend of SJ’s. SJ disappeared as the ghosts usually did when the deed was done and Laura headed home.

When Laura finally made it home that evening, LaF was either not there or had already gone to bed. Carmilla was absent also and Laura was exhausted, she fell into bed alone that night.

*

 “Danny… Danny!” Laura whispered across the office the next day.

 Danny looked up and around as if she thought she might be hearing things and then made eye contact with Laura.

Laura beckoned Danny over to her desk, who grabbed a folder from her desk and approached, “Well, what do you know?” Laura asked, expectantly.

 “What are you tryin’ to do Hollis, solve the case or something?” Danny joked with a grin, as she pulled a chair from a nearby desk and sat down next to Laura.

 “No… just interested, you know that,” Laura said, looking around the office, conscious of being overheard.

 “Well,” Danny began, “Found out what I could, my guy told me there really wasn’t any point but I insisted. So, there were no reports of anybody leaving the building after the gun shot, nobody was spotted,” She said as she flicked through some papers.

 “The murder weapon was never found. The cameras outside the building never worked, there was nothing found at the scene to indicate who the killer was, not a finger print… nothing.” She trifled through a few more pages.

 “Lots of friends, neighbours were questioned but no leads and no suspects. Her girlfriend, was initially suspect but she had a pretty solid alibi and was really torn up about it, of course, she hasn’t been seen around here in a while.”

 “Alibi? What was it?” Laura asked, meeting Danny’s eye.

 “That I don’t know,” Danny gave a shrug. 

Laura nodded, “Thanks Danny,” she said, deep in thought.

 “No problem, Hollis… why though? Why are you so interested in this case? There’s no interest in this anymore, it’s been years and nothing...” Danny asked.

 “Oh, I er… live in the apartment she died in,” Laura replied, looking down at her hands.

 “Really-” Danny frowned started to skim through her papers, “I’ll be damned…so you do…how did I miss that? ... _wow_.”  

*

 “Laura!”

 “Huh? What?” Laura looked up at LaF from her pie, dropping her fork.

 “L, I was talking to you and you were completely out of it,” LaFontaine laughed. “Are you okay?”

 “Oh, I’m sorry LaF, I… I’m just… I’m trying to help Carmilla but I’m… I’m at a bit of an impasse,” she said, picking up her fork and poking at her pie.

 LaF glanced toward Laura’s bedroom door uncomfortably, “What do you mean?”

 “She’s not here, LaF,” Laura couldn’t help but smile, “Well, it’s Carmilla’s case, you know it’s unsolved and Carm doesn’t remember anything… How can I ever find out what really happened to her?”

 “L, are you telling me that you still haven’t read the book?” LaF replied, looking unusually annoyed.

 Laura shook her head. “What’s the book got to do with anything?” Laura answered, feeling a little annoyed herself.

 “That book holds all the answers, L!” LaF said, standing up. “Where is it?”

 They both made their way into Laura’s bedroom, Laura began to search around for the book.

 “I know it’s around here somewhere,” she said, getting down to search under the bed.

 “Found it!” She said happily, pulling it out and handing it straight to LaF.

 “If you want to save…” LaF paused and pushed the book back into Laura’s hands, “Laura, this may be the most important book you’ll ever read. If you want to help Carmilla, then read this...”

 “This book will help solve the case?” Laura asked quizzically, sceptical.

 “It will do more than that, Laura,” LaF said as they turned to leave the room, pulling the door closed behind them.

 Laura stared down at the book in her hands for a moment before swiftly moving across the room to her desk where she dropped it down and sat, opening it to the first page.

 Okay, she thought, this book holds the answers, all I gotta do is read it.

 She stared down at the miniature text, she could already feel her eyes blurring and her attention waning as she read the first line.

  _The earliest recorded indication of the “Mediator” or communication with the dead dates back as far as the Egyptians, the most notable…_

Laura pushed her hair away from her face and sighed, looked to the empty window seat and then back down at the page. Okay…where was she…

  _…back as far as the Egyptians, the most notable of these…_

Laura sucked in a breath when she felt hands on her shoulders.

 Carmilla, just Carmilla.

 “Carm… _Jeez_ ,” Laura sat back in her chair, looking at Carmilla upside-down as she leant a little over her.

 “What are you reading?” Carmilla asked with a smile as her hands began to massage Laura’s shoulders.

 “Um… book,” Laura responded dumbly, her eyes slipping closed as she enjoyed the feel of Carmilla’s gentle fingers.

 Carmilla chuckled and Laura let out a pleasant sigh which turned into a groan when Carmilla’s hands abruptly stopped, “I’ve seen that book before.”

 “Yeah, LaF gave it me… don’t you remember, it’s been under the bed for like a month,” Laura replied, sitting up a little straighter now.

 “No… a long time ago I mean, when I was… alive. I’ve seen that book or a book _just like that_ ,” Carmilla murmured, reaching over her to turn a few pages with interest.

 “Really, where?” Laura turned to look up at her properly.

 Carmilla frowned and took a step back, rubbing at her eyes, “I don’t- I can’t really remember…”

 Laura stood and grabbed at Carmilla’s wrists pulling her hands away from her face, “Tell me you’ve read it before so I don’t have too?” Laura asked hopefully.

 Carmilla smiled then and chewed at her lip, still looking a little thoughtful.

 “I don’t think I’ve read it but I’ve definitely seen it,” she said in contemplation.

 “It’s was LaF’s, maybe you’ve just seen it around the apartment?” Laura said, with a little shrug, moving to grip the top of Carmilla’s arms, pulling herself closer to her.

 “No, I don’t think it’s that…” Carmilla said, thoughtfully.

 “Well, it doesn’t really matter now anyway,” Laura said, quietly.

 “No, I don’t suppose it does,” she whispered as her hand came up to run through Laura’s hair, making Laura shiver slightly.

 “Nope… doesn’t…” Laura whispered, almost inaudibly as she stared at Carmilla’s lips.

 Carmilla’s fingers tickled the back of her neck and then rested there. Their noses bumped together and Laura’s eyes slipped closed as she dragged in a slow ragged breath.

 “Laura, I _have_ to apologise! I know I may have overreacted _slightly! But_ I hope you can forgive me? I’ve made you cookies as a peace offering?” Perry’s booming voice filled the room and Laura almost screamed in shock.

 Laura took a deep breath, she suddenly wished to throw things at Perry.

 She looked towards her bedroom door, where Perry was stood holding a plate of cupcakes up with a sad smile.

 “Um…” Laura ran a hand through her hair. “It’s no prob-” she began, pausing when she heard a strange sort of buzzing sound.

 Items on the desk had started to vibrate and Laura noticed that Carmilla’s fists were clenched as she stared at Perry looking rather irritated.

 “I hate this place,” Carmilla murmured, before disappearing.

 Perry was now staring warily at the desk and Laura shooed her out of the room quickly.

 “Was that it? The ghost?” Perry asked, looking back over her shoulder. Laura closed her bedroom door behind her.

 “It’s a she, and yes she’s a little…. um, angry,” Laura said as they entered the living room.

 “Was it me?” Perry asked, looking slightly scared.

 “No…” Laura wasn’t sure what to say.

 “Can’t you, you know, _get her out of here?”_ Perry asked, shaking her head and looking warily toward Laura’s bedroom door.

 “ _No!”_ Laura almost shouted. “I mean… it’s not like that and it’s not that easy,” She blushed.

 “Is it safe?” Perry whispered.

 “Yes, Carmilla is…” Laura paused and swallowed, “We are safe.”

 LaF emerged from their bedroom, “Are you reading?”

Laura frowned in their direction, “I’m doing it now!”

*

 Laura stared down at the page, she’d only made it as far as page 11. Darkness had fallen outside her bedroom window and her eyes were feeling tired and dry.

  _The shifter's powers do not merely include communication with the dead and-_

Her eyes slowly slipped closed and opened.

  _The shifter's powers do not merely include…_

Maybe she’d get up, make herself a cocoa and then come back.

 She didn’t expect herself to finish the book tonight by any means but she’d like to make a sufficient dent or least discover something that might help solve Carmilla’s case.

  _The shifter's powers do not_

“Cupcake, you’re barely awake,” Laura looked up dreamily at Carmilla, she didn’t look angry anymore, Laura noted happily. 

“Carm, I have to read this book, it’ll answer all the questions,” Laura mumbled, rubbing her eye.

“The book will still be there to answer all of your questions tomorrow, come on,” Carmilla said, reaching out her hand which Laura took and was pulled to her feet.

“Yeah, I guess so,” she said quietly, meeting Carmilla’s gaze and then frowning in concentration.

“Are you okay, Cupcake?” Carmilla asked, looking mildly concerned. 

“Just waiting… ” Laura replied, squeezing Carmilla’s hand for a moment and then releasing her, bringing her hands up her arms to her elbows and gripping there.

 “What are you waiting for?” Carmilla whispered.

 “The interruption…” Laura smiled.

 Carmilla glanced briefly at the bedroom door and whispered, “I don’t think there’s-”

Laura didn’t give Carmilla a chance to finish speaking, she shot forward quickly covering Carmilla’s mouth with hers at last. Interruption be damned.

 Carmilla responded almost immediately, her fingers entwining in Laura’s hair as she leant into the kiss eagerly and Laura hummed pleasantly.

 The kiss was better than anything Laura have ever imagined, Carmilla’s lips were soft but she kissed her with just the right amount of firmness that left her breathless and made her stomach clench.

 Laura’s hand gripped at her back, pulling desperately at her shirt at the waist to pull Carmilla impossibly closer. She whined when she felt Carmilla’s teeth nibble at her bottom lip and drew in a ragged breath when she sucked on it.

 Carmilla’s hands pulled lightly at her hair when the kiss grew even more feverish and then after a moment, Carmilla stilled.

 Her hands untangled themselves in Laura’s hair and came to rest on her shoulders. Laura opened her eyes questionably and Carmilla leaned in again.

 This time the kiss was slow and gentle and Carmilla’s thumb stroked along her cheekbone and Laura felt suddenly like might she pass out when Carmilla’s tongue met hers.

 “Wait…” Carmilla pulled away slightly, kissed her once more and then pulled away again.

 “Carm,” Laura mumbled, feeling a little frustrated.

 “Laura, you should go to bed,” Carmilla said, taking a step back.

 “Huh?” Laura asked, confused and Carmilla chuckled.

 “I think you should go to bed, I’d like to... give you some time. You might regret this in the morning,” Carmilla looked a little sad.

 Laura chuckled then, “Carm, I would never…”

 “Goodnight, Cupcake,” Carmilla said, kissing her forehead before disappearing.

 “Wait… so you’re just going to disappear on me?” Laura spoke to an empty room, a little irritated.

 “Well… I could stay if you’d like,” Carmilla’s voice came from behind her, Laura looked around, she’d already settled herself down on the bed with a book.


	10. The Fourth Dimension

A frown of confusion appeared on Laura’s face as she stared down at the book in front of her, she re-read the words again, trying to determine what any of it meant.

_The shifter's powers do not merely include communication with the dead and teleportation between their world and our own, but the ability to travel at will throughout the fourth dimension as well._

What does that mean? The fourth dimension? Laura was almost certain she couldn’t travel to any _fourth dimension_. And teleportation… this had to be some sort of joke.

Laura re-read the words once more and shook her head. LaFontaine must be mistaken, she wasn’t a shifter, she was just a mediator… she’d know if she was able to… _teleport_. Laura felt silly just contemplating the idea. 

She sat back in her desk chair, her gaze flickering to the window as it often did, Laura wondered briefly whether Carmilla would know what this fourth dimension might be.

But where was Carmilla? She hadn’t been there when Laura had woken up and had been MIA all morning. Laura’s stomach gave a little lurch as she thought about Carmilla, at the time that kiss had seemed so right. She couldn’t help but feel almost a little grateful for Carmilla’s absence though… she was starting to have second thoughts about the whole kissing thing and now given her absence, Laura was almost certain Carmilla was regretting it.

She picked up one of the many articles that now cluttered her desk and stared for a moment at the image of Carmilla. She knew it would never work out, not with Carmilla being… well… a ghost… but it was difficult, especially when Carmilla was as real to her as anyone. Why would Carmilla just up and disappear this morning though?

 “Everything okay, Cupcake?”

 Laura dropped the article onto the desk, looking around in alarm at Carmilla who was suddenly standing right next to her, with a smirk and an expectant look.

 “What?” Laura asked in confusion, turning in her seat.

 “You called me?” Carmilla said, raising a perfect eyebrow.

 Laura’s mouth dropped open a little, “I, what?”

 “Just now? You called for me,” Carmilla smiled and rolled her eyes, sitting down on the window seat in a relaxed sort of way.

“I called you? How? I didn’t even know I could…”

 “I heard you,” Carmilla said with a shrug.

 “I… I’ve never… done anything like that before,” Laura was bemused, maybe there _were_ aspects of her abilities that she hadn’t quite figured out yet.

 “Well… I’m here now so, what is it, Cupcake?” Carmilla asked, leaning forward, staring at her.

“No- I wasn’t… I mean, I wasn’t _calling_ you, I was just _thinking_ about you,” Laura blushed has she realised how her words could be misconstrued.

Carmilla just smirked, quite amused. 

Laura stood then, running a hand through her hair, uncomfortably, “Actually I- need to just speak to LaF-” she made to leave the room.

“Is everything okay? You’re acting strange… even for you,” Carmilla said, with a raised brow and Laura paused, turning to face her.

“What? _No!_ Everything’s great… pal!” Laura winced, she wanted to disappear, she was very warm all of a sudden.

Why was she making this so awkward? Why was Carmilla so calm?

Carmilla stood, frowning at her now, “Is this-” she gestured between the both of them, “is this about… yesterday?”

“ _No_!” Laura said quickly, feeling suddenly defensive. “Maybe!?”

 Carmilla looked a little taken a back, she folded her arms but remained silent, staring at Laura.

 “Are you-“ Laura swallowed, “ _Carm,_ you’re _you_! And I’m… _me_!”

 “What?” Carmilla frowned in confusion.

 “I _can’t_ , I just- it’s,” Laura felt tears stinging her eyes, she wasn’t even sure where these words were coming from. “You’re a _ghost_ , you’re…” Laura couldn’t bring herself to say the word, dead.

 Carmilla had the audacity to look pouty, her bottom lip was sticking out a little more than usual, Laura had to look away.

 “Cupcake…” Carmilla whispered, taking a step closer.

 Laura chewed her lip, hoping Carmilla wouldn’t come any closer. What was she doing? What was she saying?

 “It’s okay, I understand,” Carmilla spoke quietly in a defeated sort of tone after a moment of silence.

 “What?” Laura looked at her now with unease.

 “I’m… dead, I get it, I understand that this can’t… _work_ ,” Carmilla said, pointedly.

“Oh...” Laura felt sick to her stomach, Carmilla confirming her thoughts, agreeing with her, made her feel worse about it all. “Good...well that’s good. That’s settled then.”

Laura swallowed as she met Carmilla’s gaze, she wished she could take the last 5 minutes back and start all over… she didn’t know why she had said those things, well she did… she was trying to protect herself from being hurt when she finally worked out how to help Carmilla, she’d disappear and then Laura would be left behind on her own.

 “Look, Laura, I can disappear for a while-“

 Laura closed the space between them, silencing Carmilla with a kiss. She knew that maybe the things she was saying were right, Carmilla was dead, she could really never be with Laura, grow old with her, be seen by anyone else _but_ her… but Laura was finding it very hard to care about that right now.

 Carmilla returned the kiss with equal enthusiasm and then smiled, murmuring, “…Or not?” against Laura’s lips.

 Laura shook her head and _shush_ ed her, wrapping her arms around Carmilla’s neck. She didn’t want to think, she didn’t want to consider the future, or worry about feelings, she didn’t care, she just wanted to be happy now.

 Carmilla’s forehead came to rest against Laura’s, her eyes were shut, a rather content look gracing her face. Laura smiled, feeling rather breathless. Carmilla’s lip touched hers again briefly and then once more.

 Laura groaned, in faux annoyance trying to pull Carmilla’s lips back to hers to deepen the kiss.

“How are you getting on with your book?” Carmilla asked as her lips descended along Laura’s jaw slowly. 

Laura’s fingers sank into Carmilla’s hair holding tightly, she strained her neck indulging Carmilla, her eyes slipped closed as she enjoyed the sensations, almost missing Carmilla’s words.

“Hmm…” Laura hummed, “I was meant to be reading it right now.”

 “Oh,” Carmilla lips disappeared, and Laura opened the eyes with an anguished huff.

 “No no no,” Laura muttered quickly, pulling Carmilla’s lips back to hers.

 Carmilla groaned pleasantly at Laura’s eagerness and pulled them flush together quite impulsively, the kiss growing more heated. Laura took a few small steps backward, Carmilla’s grip tightened at her waist as if worried she was trying to escape, she followed inevitably until Laura dropped back on to her bed, pulling Carmilla down with her.

 Laura moaned, thrilled by Carmilla’s weight falling atop of her before Carmilla was able to lift herself a little into a more comfortable position and smile down at her.

 They kissed slowly for a few minutes, enjoying each other until Laura sucked in a ragged breath and the tip of Carmilla’s nose ran along Laura’s jaw.

 “Carm?” Laura asked, her hands running through Carmilla’s hair, contented.

 “Hmm?” Carmilla purred into her ear and Laura bit down on her lip and took a deep breath.

 “What’s… the fourth dimension?”

“The fourth…” Carmilla lifted her head to look down at Laura, still only inches away and then she thought for a moment “I believe… it’s time.”

 “Time?” Laura said loudly, coming to her senses somewhat and looking wide eyed at Carmilla.

 “Excuse me,” Laura said hurriedly, slipping out from under Carmilla who fell onto the bed into the space where Laura had been.

 She leaned down over the desk, her eyes fixed on the old book open there and read the text again.

_The shifter's powers do not merely include communication with the dead and teleportation between their world and our own, but the ability to travel at will throughout the fourth dimension as well._

The ability to travel at will throughout the fourth dimension…

To travel in _time?!_

Laura heaved the book off the desk, moving quickly across the room to the door, swinging it open, leaving Carmilla on the bed giving her a questioning look.

 “LaF! LaF!” Laura yelled as she ran into the living room slamming the book down on the table.

LaFontaine appeared in their bedroom doorway looking concerned.

 “ _Time?_ Travel in time? Really?!” Laura sat down on the couch, fearing she might keel over any second.

 “Hey! You’re figuring it out!” They responded, meandering over with glee.

 “LaF, I may be able to see ghosts but I most certainly _cannot_ travel in time,” Laura said, pushing her hair back away from her face.

 “Why?” LaF shrugged, looking unconcerned.

 “What, so… you think this is true, you think I can travel through time? You know that’s _completely_ impossible, right?” 

“Why?” LaFontaine repeated again.

"Because- Because it’s _impossible_ , and you can't just… even if it were… you can't go back and mess things up!" Laura gestured wildly.

"Why not? Isn't that what you do every day when you mediate? Aren't you interfering with things by helping these spirits?" LaF responded, calmly.

"That's different," Laura said, frowning.

"How?" LaF shook their head.

"Because those people are already dead! They can't do anything that might…  change the course of history. It’s impossible LaF, it can’t be done, I’d know if I was able to do a thing like that," Laura huffed.

“Maybe you can!” LaF said, and then glanced to Laura’s bedroom door and whispered, “Maybe you can go back and find out exactly what happened to Carmilla on the night she died!”

Laura covered her face with her hands, this was completely nonsensical.

“L, you may think it’s a little far-fetched but do me one favor and keep reading the book, please?” LaF reasoned, sitting down next to Laura and pointing at it on the table.

Laura wanted to scoff, it was quite obvious to her that whoever had written this book was clearly out of their mind but she took a deep breath and then nodded slowly.

Back in her bedroom Laura walked slowly across the room, setting the book back down on the desk, Carmilla’s eyes followed her everywhere she went.

“Do you believe that?” Laura asked suddenly, turning to face Carmilla and sitting down on the edge of the bed.

“Time travel?” Carmilla frowned, “No, not really.”

“I know it’s completely ridiculous,” Laura said, with a nod, reassuring herself.

“Although… I’m almost certain I wouldn’t have believed in ghosts or people like you when I was alive and look at us now, I don’t know what to believe anymore.” Carmilla said, moving over to accommodate Laura as she moved to lay down on the bed next to her.

“Why does it matter anyway?” Carmilla asked, casually.

“It matters because I’ve been trying to find a way to help you, Carm.” Laura said, turning to face her.

Carmilla frowned.

“LaF is suggesting that I travel back in time to the night that you died to find out what happened and solve the case, that way you’ll be free of this place,” Laura said, contemplating the words as they came out of her mouth.

“ _No_.” Carmilla said, defiantly, turning to face the ceiling, no longer looking at Laura.

“What?” Laura felt a twinge of anger.

“I don’t want you doing that for me, that sounds… _dangerous_ and I’m fine, I’m happy here, Laura.” Carmilla reasoned.

“For how long, Carmilla?” Laura said suddenly very irritated by Carmilla’s response, she sat up.

Carmilla shook her head, “What?! Who was it two minutes ago, saying this was a completely ridiculous idea?!”

“You can’t decide what I can and can’t do! It’s _my_ job!” Laura found herself yelling.

“So we’re back to this again! And I don’t have a say in my own future?” Carmilla said, moving to stand.

“What future, Carmilla? You’re dead!” Laura bellowed without thinking.

Carmilla’s mouth dropped open and then she blinked, completely silent, a moment of shock.  She met Laura’s gaze and then she spoke quietly, “Fine. Do it then, do it because obviously this arrangement isn’t working.”

Carmilla disappeared, with a shake of her head leaving Laura on her own to contemplate everything that just happened.

*

It has been almost 24 hours since their argument and since Carmilla had disappeared. Laura had had enough arguments with Carmilla to know that this was probably the angriest she had ever been with her. (Carmilla hadn’t even closed Laura’s window for her when she grew cold in the night and that was something she had done religiously since Laura had moved in.) Not that Laura couldn’t understand why, she had regretted those words almost as soon as they’d left her mouth but she was standing by what she had said, it was her job and Carmilla wasn’t going to stop her from doing it.

But as was always the case when Carmilla disappeared like this… worse now than ever, Laura missed her and was left with an agonising empty feeling, like something very important to her was missing. She tried not to think about Carmilla, which only backfired, the more Laura tried not to think about Carmilla… the more she thought about her.

It didn’t help that it was Sunday and Laura didn’t even have work to distract herself from thinking about her. Laura worried that she may accidentally ‘call’ Carmilla as she had done the day before, she wasn’t sure what she’d do if a furious Carmilla showed up out of nowhere.

So now, Laura found herself sitting with LaF at the kitchen isle consulting the book, as they ate dessert.

“But what’s the _point_ LaF, why am bothering with all this going in back in time thing when all I’m going to do is find out what happened? Why don’t I try and save her or something?” Laura suggested.

LaF nearly choked on their cake, “L, I’m not sure you should be attempting risks like that, especially now, what if something went wrong?”

“Okay so, theoretically…  if I went back and _saved_ Carmilla, well… she’d have never died, right? Which means… I’ll never have met her,” Laura shrugged. “I can’t miss what I don’t remember?”

 That idea sounded suddenly very appealing to Laura, right now she’d give anything to forget about Carmilla and this gaping hole she’d left when she’d disappeared.

 “I don’t think it works like that, L,” LaF said, giving her a pained sort of look.

 “What do you mean, how does it work then?” Laura asked with a frown.

 “Well, you could save her… potentially… but you’ll always remember Carmilla, you’ll never be able forget what has happened. With your abilities, this gift you possess… being able to do things like _this_ …” LaF gestured to the book, “It’s very likely you will retain your memories of Carmilla. It’s like… It’s like you’re at the eye of the storm, you’ll probably be the only one who could remember.” They said, finishing by popping the last of their cake into their mouth.

 Laura pouted and sighed staring at her half-eaten dessert and pushed the plate away. Okay, that sounded like possibly the worst situation she could find herself in.

 “So… how do I do it?” Laura asked, sucking in a deep breath, bracing herself.

 LaF pursed their lips for a moment and then grabbed the book, flipping a few pages, “It’s… somewhere…. here!” They said, running their finger along the fresh page.

  _…The shifter must possess an item or artefact connecting to a period of time and a person they may come in contact with in the past, their constant. It is said the shifter has the ability to simply “will” themselves into the fourth dimension, meaning they need only think about the year, the place, the time and will find themselves transported there. Many have found this explicably difficult to do, some have never managed it although they process the apparent skills…_

Laura rubbed at her temple with her finger and took a long deep breath, it seemed the more she read of this book, the more ridiculous it became. But somehow it also made a lot of sense…

 “I need something of Carmilla’s, something from back then…” Laura said, looking up at LaFontaine.

 “And where would you get something like that?” LaF mused.

 “That won’t be a problem,” Laura said, thinking about the small stash of things Carmilla had kept hidden under the window seat in her room.

 “LaF, am I mad for actually considering this?” Laura said with a pained expression.

 “Laura…” LaF said, sitting up in their chair, “If you save her… wouldn’t that mean she’d still be alive today? I mean, she wouldn’t know you but she’d probably be alive…”

 Laura hadn’t thought of that, Laura hadn’t thought about a living breathing Carmilla Karnstein at all. It made her feel queasy.

 “She’d probably still live in this apartment!” LaF spoke up loudly, making Laura start. “Where would we live?” LaF was looking very concerned.

 “Erm... LaF, I don’t really think our living arrangements matter much right now, I haven’t even managed the whole time travelling thing yet,” Laura said, feeling a little inadequate.

 “Where is she anyway? Carmilla?” LaF said, gesturing with a nod toward Laura’s bedroom. “I kinda heard _some_ of the argument yesterday… sorry, it was very hard not to overhear... _you_ anyway.” LaF said, looking a smidge guilty.

 Laura was quiet for a moment, “She’s just gone away for a few days…”

 “Oh… like a little vacation?” LaF joked, obviously trying to lighten the mood.

 “Yep…” Laura replied, forcing a smile, she wasn’t sure she wanted to talk about her fight with Carmilla yet.

 She stood, grabbing their plates to wash up so she could hide from LaF for a few moments.

 “What do you have that belongs to Carmilla then?” LaF spoke up.

 “I have a few items I’ve found, old photographs, a few books,” Laura said, casually. “So, I just gotta grab one and think of 2010?” She turned back to face LaFontaine, making it sound easy.

 “Sounds like it, good luck with that,” LaF said, sounding amused, “I’m going over to Perry’s.”

 Alone, truly alone for once, Laura thought as she wandered through the apartment aimlessly for a while and then into her bedroom. She automatically headed for the window seat, knowing she’d end up there anyway.

 She pulled up the seat and peered down at the items held within. After a moment, she reached and picked up the photograph of Carmilla and Ell which still lay on top.

 She stared at the photograph of the smiling Carmilla and chewed her lip. She understood the basic theory, she had an item from the past that belonged to Carmilla… now all she needed to do was make it happen.

“Okay,” Laura spoke out loud to herself, talking some deep breaths and walking up and down the room a few times, nervously preparing herself, thinking it over and over as if she was rehearsing some lines before she was about to walk out on stage.

She screwed her eyes shut, “2010, 2010,” she repeated over and over, squeezing the photo in her hand. “2010, 2010.”

She opened her eyes and frowned with a huff, she was still in her bedroom.

“Okay, let’s try a different tactic,” she spoke to herself.

This time when Laura screwed her eyes shut, she tried to think of what the apartment might have looked like when Carmilla had lived here. Thinking of the photographs that may have hung in frames on the walls, the piles of books Carmilla would have had dotted around the apartment and stacked onto shelves. The dark bedspread that Carmilla had recently told her had been much softer than Laura’s was. A time when Carmilla slept in this room and she left _her_ clothes lying around and her possessions, the broken camera, the old jewellery box. Carmilla’s apartment, Carmilla’s apartment… Carmilla’s apartment.

It hadn’t worked, Laura was sure of it, she was certain she’d feel something, a jolt or a wave or something to tell her she’d succeeded. She sighed as she opened her eyes, adjusting to the room…

“WHO THE FRILLY HELL ARE YOU?!”


	11. Back Through Time

Carmilla was frozen in her bedroom doorway, staring at Laura, her expression angry with an edge of panic. Laura couldn’t immediately respond… she’d actually done it! And the living, breathing Carmilla was stood right in front of her.

 She of course wasn’t wearing the signature clothes that Laura was used to seeing but a green tank top and… were they leather pants?! Laura had still said nothing, and Carmilla suddenly seized a lamp from the bedside table, holding it up to protect herself with, then giving it a threatening swing in Laura’s direction.

 “ _Who are you and what the hell are you doing in my bedroom?_!” Carmilla yelled, taking a few menacing towards her.

 Crap… why hadn't she thought of this?

 “Carm!” Laura said, putting her hands up in a defenceless manner. The photo of Carmilla and Ell which was crumpling in her hand fell to the floor. Carmilla’s eyes followed it as it fell, a disturbed expression gracing her face.

 “What… _why_ do you have that!?” Carmilla sounded a little scared now, she looked between the photograph and Laura a few times.

 She swung the lamp again, in a threatening, I’m not afraid to use it sort of way. Laura backed up a step or two trying to put some distance between herself and Carmilla, her hands still raised.

“Carm. _Please_ let me explain!” She backed herself into a book case and then glanced around the room quickly, looking for an escape if she needed it but she already knew the only safe exit was blocked by Carmilla.

“How- How do you know my name?!” Carmilla yelled, Laura could tell she was panicking.

 “Okay, wait…,” Laura felt fear, she’d never been scared in Carmilla’s presence before.  Alive Carmilla was possibly a little more menacing, she told herself.

 “My name is Laura Hollis and I know it seems _mad_ but… I’m from the future and I’m here to save your life _,_ ” She yelled these words in a hurry before she could change her mind, wincing at the absolute unbelievably of her claim.

 The lamp in Carmilla’s hand dipped a little as she gave Laura a look of complete confusion.

“What…?” Carmilla took a step or two away then, toward the exit, looking warily at Laura, “Yeah, save my life…. Sure. Stay right there, I’m calling the police.” She said, moving for the bedroom door but not taking her eyes from Laura.

“Carm, please, wait…” Laura tried to reason, “Just let me explain-”

 “Don’t call me that, you don’t know me!” Carmilla said, angrily.

 “But I do! I do know you! Your name is Carmilla Karnstein, you’re 24 years old. You’re a photographer! Or… you at least want to be! And you’re dating a girl named Ell… I think. And, and um… I do know you! I swear!” Laura expression became agonised, she didn’t sound convincing even to her own ears.

 “Are you _stalking_ me?” Carmilla looked her up with a look of disgust and then she glanced around the room as if looking for a more threatening weapon.

 “I swear to you... I’m- I’m what’s called a mediator. I can communicate with the dead, _ghosts_ , spirits and also… apparently I can time travel, which is strange and new but-” Laura rambled nervously.

She could tell by the look on Carmilla’s face that she had just made things worse.

“Carm, where I come from, I’m trying to help you…” She stared into Carmilla’s eyes, pleading.

Carmilla shook her head, “Ghosts… what is- but I’m not dead...” Laura heart gave a little leap, Carmilla wasn’t running for the exit which was good news.

“… You will be,” Laura said automatically, realizing how threatening that must have sounded. “I’m here to help! I’m here to save your life!” She added, raising her hands again which were slipping. 

“I’m dead...?” Carmilla frowned.

Laura nodded, deciding it was probably best not to talk now that Carmilla appeared to be calming down and Laura was afraid of rambling and saying the wrong thing.

 “When…When do I die?” Carmilla stared at her.

Laura released a relieved breath.

 “Um… What’s the date now?” She asked.

 “March 6th 2010,” Carmilla had lowered the lamp down by her side and Laura dropped her hands.

 Two months. She had travelled back two months early! Laura felt a little calmer hearing this.

 “… Not yet…I’m here a little earlier than I expected,” Laura gave Carmilla a little smile and nervously pushed her hair back from her face. She obviously hadn’t quite grasped the whole-time travel thing properly quite yet.

 “When?” Carmilla asked, quietly.

 “Um… Do you really wanna know? …If it was me I think knowing the date of my death would drive me a little mad.”

 “How then? How do I die?” Carmilla took an impatient step closer, Laura eye’s widened.

 She made a gun sign with her hand and pretended to shoot Carmilla, “…Murdered.” She felt herself blushing red at the silliness of her action but Carmilla didn’t seem to notice.

 “ _Who?_ ” Was all she responded with.

 Laura shrugged, “No idea, that’s why I’m here. I want to find out.”

 “Where are you from, like what time?” Carmilla asked demandingly.

 “2017.”

 Carmilla was silent for a moment, “So… I must have _some_ time, that’s seven years off.”

 Laura didn’t respond. She wasn’t sure what to say. 2 months wasn’t a very long time at all and she didn’t want to lie.

Carmilla looked down at the lamp in her hand as if realizing she was still holding it and then placed it back on the bedside table. She was still eyeing Laura warily.

“So… I’m a ghost… Where you’re from, I’m a ghost.” Her statement was more of a question.

Laura nodded.

“And I haunt this apartment?” She asked sceptically, pointing at the floor near her feet.

“Yes, well in 2017 it’s actually my apartment, my… bedroom.” Laura said, awkwardly and then glanced around the room. 

“You’re telling me I haunt _your_ bedroom?” Carmilla almost smiled, she crossed her arms. “And you’re from the future… okay, _prove it_.”

 Laura stammered for a moment and rolled her eyes, “ _How?_ ”

“Who’s president?” Carmilla asked quickly, raising an eyebrow as if this question would prove beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Laura grimaced, “What? _No_ , I don’t think…you wouldn’t believe me… plus, how would you even know if I was telling the truth?”

“What did you say your name was?” Carmilla asked with intrigue, with every passing minute she was looking more amused, probably having come to the assumption that Laura was actually pretty much helpless.

“Laura… Laura Hollis.”

“Laura… okay,” Carmilla unexpectedly turned and left the bedroom, Laura wondered whether she was meant to follow.

 She glanced around the bedroom again, it was very Carmilla. A tonne of books, the dark bed sheets that did look _very_ comfortable. The window seat looked the same except there was a dark pillow instead of the blue one that Laura had.

 She followed, picking up the picture of Carmilla and shoving it into the back pocket of her jeans.

 Carmilla leant against the back of her couch, crossed her arms and looked Laura up and down.

 “So, I get shot to death? I don’t even own a gun.” Carmilla appeared to look almost as if she was enjoying herself.

 “Well, then it’s safe to assume you don’t shoot yourself,” Laura replied, looking around the living room.

 It surprisingly looked cosier, warmer than how Laura knew it. The long purple curtains that Carmilla owned were drawn and the lamps and a few candles cast an orangey glow throughout the room. The couch looked expensive and Laura couldn’t see a TV anywhere. Laura wondered whether the second bedroom was taken or whether Carmilla lived here alone.

 Carmilla chuckled and Laura eyes snapped backed to her, Carmilla was staring at her intently, very amused.

 “So… it appears I came back to the wrong time,” Laura said, a little embarrassed. “This is my first time trying anything like this…”

 “If I’m a ghost… Why can’t I just tell you who killed me?” Carmilla asked, sceptically.

 “It’s difficult… you don’t remember much about it.”

 Carmilla looked at the floor, considering Laura’s answer.

 “You don’t know anyone who would wanna try and kill you, do you?” Laura asked hopefully with a smile.

 Carmilla shook her head, looking amused. “No, Cutie.”

 Laura’s heart skipped as Carmilla used one of her nicknames.

 “Well, I think I’ve disturbed you long enough…” She said, bouncing on the balls of her feet awkwardly. “I’ll just-”

 “Wait, _if_ I see you again… is that when I’ll…” Camilla didn’t finish her sentence.

 “Um… I’m not sure,” Laura frowned, sadly. “But please don’t let anybody kill you!” Laura added quickly.

 Carmilla chuckled again, “I’ll try not to.”

 Laura beamed, Carmilla seemed to be taking this quite well, Laura couldn’t imagine how she’d react if faced with the same.

 “Good…so, um… I’ll see you around,” Laura said, hoping that returning to the present was the same as travelling back or else she might just be stuck here.

 Carmilla nodded, obviously intrigued about what was to happen next.

 Laura closed her eyes, imagining her apartment all around her, her living room and when she opened them again, she was stood safely in her own living room in the present day… she fell to the floor in a heap.

 She felt exhausted all of a sudden, it seemed time travel could really take a lot out of a girl, Laura mused as she lay on the floor. Her vision blurred as she stared up at the ceiling and then a figure was hovering above her blocking out the light. A soft hand stroked her cheek and Laura smiled and leaned into the touch, her eyes drifted closed.

“… you do? Laura? What did you do?” She became aware of a voice, she tried to respond but she was so sleepy…

*

Laura awoke to the sound of her alarm, she rolled to grab her phone on the bedside table but it wasn’t there. She frowned, her eyes stinging as her body screamed at her to go back to sleep. Focusing up, she listened for the ring and followed the sound to her desk where her phone had been sat, where she’d left it the night before…

 She sat up quickly she was still wearing her clothes from yesterday, wait… had it all been a dream? It couldn’t have been, it had all seemed so... real.

 She still felt overwhelmingly tired, she rubbed at her eyes, it was quite obvious travelling back and forth through time was incredibly draining. Laura stumbled across the room to her phone at it continued to blare and switched off the ring.

Memories of the night before flooded her mind, she’d actually done it, travelled back in time. She’d met Carmilla, the very much alive and kicking Carmilla. Reaching into her back pocket, Laura pulled out the now crumpled photograph of Carmilla and then looked hopefully around the bedroom for her but she was nowhere to be seen.

 Laura yawned and fell back onto her bed, she mashed her face into the pillow… she’d call in sick to work, she was too tired to work today.

 The next time Laura opened her eyes, she had a peculiar sensation almost as if someone was watching her. She turned over, her senses were confirmed when she saw Carmilla sitting on the window seat, not in her usual relaxed position but rigid and straight.

 “What did you do?” She asked, not in a demanding way but almost sad, Laura still felt a pang of anger at Carmilla’s accusatory question.

 “You’re still here so I obviously haven’t changed anything,” Laura muttered, sitting up and pushing her hair out  her face.

 “That’s not what I- I was worried about you.” Carmilla admitted. “What happened?”

 “I travelled back in time,” Laura said, matter of factly.

 “And?”

 “Well, don’t you remember? You were there,” Laura asked.

 “Laura, I’ve told you, I don’t remember anything,” Carmilla shook her head.

 “Well, I went back and I told you everything… but I was a few months early, so I couldn’t sa-” Laura stopped talking.

“Couldn’t what?” Carmilla asked anyway.

“Carm, I’m going back to save your life,” Laura said hurriedly.

Carmilla eyes closed and then she groaned, “Why?!”

“Because if going back in time is the only way to solve this, I might as well save your life at the same time, Carm.”

“Laura, if you save me I’ll never remember any of this,” she said through gritted teeth, gesturing to her.

 “No but you’ll be alive and surely that matters more,” Laura reasoned.

 “I won’t remember you!” Carmilla said, standing up.

 “Of course, you will. I’ll have saved your life,” Laura frowned.

 “That’s not what I mean. And at what cost? Laura, how are you actually planning to stop me from being murdered? What’s your plan?”

 Laura picked a bit of fluff off of her jeans, “I don’t know yet.” She said, quietly.

 Carmilla sighed and ran a hand through her hair, she turned away from Laura and then turned back almost immediately. “Do you have _any_ idea- the _slightest clue_ , how much the last few months have meant to me? What _you_ mean to me?”

 Laura’s mouth popped open and she looked up at Carmilla in stunned silence.

 What was Carmilla saying?

 After a moment Laura stood, but she still said nothing, she took a step towards Carmilla and then paused as if trying gauge her response.

 And then quickly wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug. Carmilla could do nothing but stand there and be squeezed as her arms were trapped by her sides.

 “I may be dead but that hurts a little,” Carmilla gasped after a moment of intense hugging.

 Laura released her and then giggled, looking up at Carmilla in a shy manner.

 “Carm I- I’m so sorry, I’m so confused... about you, about everything.” Tears started to sting her eyes, “I’m trying but I don’t know what’s right. All I know is that I don’t want to lose you but you can’t stay like this, you can’t!...” Carmilla’s hands landed on Laura’s shoulders, grounding her. “Did you mean what you said, that this isn’t working?” Laura sniffled.

 “Cupcake...” Carmilla’s expression looked rather pained. “Of course not, I-“ she shook her head and looked up away from her. “Laura, if you save me I won’t remember any of this... I’m not the same person I used to be, I won’t appreciate you, I’ll ruin everything.”

“Why?” Laura whispered. 

“In case you don’t remember, Laura, we didn’t exactly get on when we first met…”

 “Well that was partly down to me too. Besides, I’ve already met you now and you were only _kinda_ intimidating,” Laura said with a small smile.

 “What do you mean? What did I do?” Carmilla’s eyes widened with concern.

 “You swung a lamp at me, with good reason though. But… actually you were fairly easily swayed when I started to explain it all.” Laura said teasingly.

 “Well… if it had been anyone else, I may not have been, Cutie,” Carmilla said with a smirk, leaning close as if to kiss her but paused at the last moment.

 “I believed you?” Carmilla whispered.

 Laura gave a little shrug, “Not at first but yeah I think so, I teleported back here right in front of you, her… alive you, so definitely.”

 Carmilla wound her fingers into Laura’s hair gently, leaning close, “You’re still exhausted, that time travel looked like it zapped all your energy. You’re gonna need to be careful, Laura, if you get trapped on that side you could run into trouble or something.” She rested her forehead on Laura’s.

 “I think the only trouble I’m likely to run into is you,” Laura whispered, leaning to try and capture Carmilla’s lips. She moved away slightly and smirked, Laura released a groan of frustration, her hands came up to squeeze the tops of Carmilla’s arms.

 “ _Exactly_ , so be careful,” Carmilla smiled, bumping their noses together.

 “You are unbelievable,” Laura shook her head.

 Carmilla looked at her a moment and leant down and kissed her softly, Laura sighed contently, happy that Carmilla was back.

 Laura stood on her tippy toes, now kissing Carmilla back eagerly, tangling her fingers in her hair at the back of her neck. Carmilla’s hands danced along her waist after pulling her closer.

 Her hand tightened in Carmilla’s hair and Carmilla groaned at the sensation and then stilled. Carmilla pulled away an inch with a pained expression, her eyes closed “You should probably rest, you need to… recoup after-”

 Laura pulled Carmilla’s lips back to hers with a frustrated whine, she was not interested in resting right now. She kissed Carmilla enthusiastically, pressing forward, making Carmilla stumble slightly. She gripped a fistful of Laura’s t-shirt at the waist tightly and kissed back helplessly. Laura has just begun to think Carmilla had given in when she whispered, “Wait, wait, wait,” as Laura’s teeth tugged at her lips.

Laura shook her head a little, “I’m rested,” and began to kiss along Carmilla’s jaw impatiently.

 “No, you are not,” Carmilla’s hands came up to Laura’s face and held her still. She gave her an almost stern, don’t try anything, looking expression and then kissed Laura softly.

 “Lie down with me,” Carmilla said, taking Laura’s hand and tugging her toward the bed.

 Laura chewed her lip, she didn’t want to rest but she was also more than happy to lie down with Carmilla.

 They lay face to face on their sides, Laura tugged herself as close as she could so her forehead touched Carmilla’s and she tangled their legs, gripping Carmilla’s waist. Carmilla didn’t try to stop her or push her away.

 “I’m sorry about threatening you with the lamp,” Carmilla smiled. 

Laura smiled back and kissed her briefly, “It wasn’t you, well it was… but you know what I mean.”

Laura couldn’t help herself she kissed her again, Carmilla responded in kind and Laura pulled herself even closer with a moan as Carmilla’s hands landed on her hips and tugged.

They kissed leisurely for a few moments until Laura pushed herself on top of Carmilla and kissed her harder.

 Carmilla let it happen, she groaned when Laura landed on top of her, her hands moving from her waist down to her hips and then up to her hair as if they wanted to be touching her everywhere at once.

 Laura’s confidence grew as Carmilla never tried to push her away and her own hands started to explore. Starting at her collarbones, her fingers danced lightly along the prominent bones as they kissed and then moved lower as Laura’s lips decided to make acquaintance with Carmilla’s collarbones.

 Her hands skimmed lightly along Carmilla’s shirt down the centre of her chest, down her stomach to the edge of her shirt and hovered there a moment. Carmilla sucked in some ragged breaths as Laura sucked on her throat and then gave a little jerk of surprise as Laura’s hands touched the bare skin of her stomach.

 And then she spoke, “What date was it? You said you got there early,” Carmilla spoke quickly and Laura briefly wandered whether Carmilla was trying to distract her.

 She kissed along Carmilla’s jaw line fervently and then said, “2 months early.”

 She lifted her head and looked down at Carmilla, “I didn’t tell you when… I didn’t want you to know.”

 “Hmm…”  Was all Carmilla responded with as she closed her eyes and she squeezed at Laura’s waist and then groaned, “I love touching you.”

 Laura wasn’t sure Carmilla was aware she’d spoken those words aloud and then considered what it must be like for Carmilla, not touching or being touched by another person for so long. She ran her hands up Carmilla’s stomach in response to these thoughts and then sat up suddenly, pulling her hands away.

 Carmilla’s eyes opened and she looked at Laura in confusion, “What?”

 “Your… wound,” Laura said, pulling up Carmilla’s shirt to expose her stomach and her gunshot wound.

 Carmilla chuckled. “It’s not- you can touch it, it’s like a scar, it doesn’t hurt.”

 “Okay,” Laura did the best thing and leaned down, placed her lips on the wound and kissed it.

 Laura flushed then, pink rising in her already warm cheeks as she looked up at Carmilla, “Carm, do you think- Can we actually… you know…”

 Carmilla smirked and pulled Laura back up to eye level, “Cupcake, if you can inflict pain on me, you can most certainly inflict pleasure.”

 Laura swallowed, she stared at Carmilla, eyes wide… speechless.

 Carmilla pulled Laura’s head down, initiating a heated kiss. Laura moaned into her mouth as Carmilla surged upwards, sitting up, grasping at Laura’s shirt pulling it up messily as she focused on the kiss. Laura was just about to help by whipping her shirt over her head for her when an annoying noise sounded in the room.

 Laura’s head turned towards her desk where her phone was vibrating, a call.

 She stared at it as it rang out, she didn’t want to move. They both watched, breathing heavily as the phone rang for 30 seconds and then stopped.

 Laura turned back to Carmilla quickly and kissed her again, pulling at her hair lightly as she did so.

 Her phone lit up again, the vibration sounded loud in the quiet room and Laura groaned in frustration.

 Carmilla lay back down, a neutral look on her face, gesturing for Laura to answer the phone.

 So, Laura moved across the room angrily, sliding off the bed quickly and snatching up the phone.

 Danny… Oh crap, she’d forgotten to call in sick to work!

 “Danny!” Laura answered the call.

 Carmilla scowled at the mention of Danny’s name.

 “I know, I know, I meant to call in but I’ve been really exhausted and I fell asleep.”

 Laura listened to the voice on the other end and then spoke, “No, I’m sick and I haven’t been sleeping well, that’s all.” She blushed at her lie.

 She listened again, “You don’t have to do that, Danny. I have LaF here if need anything.”

 “No, I’m fine, really. I will… I will… I’m not sure, maybe… Okay, bye.” She dropped the phone back onto the desk with a sigh.

“I forgot to call in sick to work, Danny was worried,” Laura said, looking across at Carmilla who still lay in the centre of her bed.

 “Laura? Is that you?” Came LaF’s voice from the other side of the door, they both looked in that direction and then Laura hurried over to the door.

 “Yes, who else would it be?” She smiled at LaF as she opened it.

 “I figured, it’s just you’re normally at work right now so I wasn’t- Why aren’t you at work?” LaF asked.

 “I did it, LaF.” Laura said, smiling,

 Leaving the bedroom, she headed towards the kitchen for food.

 “You did it?!” LaF exclaimed, following her.

 “No, I haven’t saved Carmilla or anything but I went back, I travelled back and I met her, except I was two months early so I just sort of introduced myself and left.”

 “What?! Can you do that? Change things like that? Can Carmilla remember meeting you in the past?” LaF asked with intrigue.

 “No, she doesn’t remember but I mean, nothing’s changed, it can’t have made that much of a difference,” Laura shrugged and opened the fridge.

 “You actually did it?” LaF shook their head in amazement.

 Laura helped herself to yogurt and then nodded at them.

 “Except, when I came back, something happened… it was like all of my energy was zapped from my body, I couldn’t even walk to my bedroom.” Laura said, casually, eating a spoonful of yogurt.

 “Really?… It must take a lot of power to travel to the fourth dimension and back,” LaF looked deep in thought, “Are you going back?”

 Laura nodded automatically. “I mean, I think I need to take some time first, Carmilla think’s I might get stuck over there if I’m too weak to get back.”

 “Hmm… She’s probably right,” LaF nodded. “What was it like then? What was Carmilla like?”

 “It was… okay. Carmilla was obviously… confused but she came around,” She swallowed more yogurt.

 “Did you warn her? Did you tell her?” LaF asked.

 Laura nodded, “Yeah, some. I didn’t tell her when, but she knows how. I told her to watch out but I don’t know if it made any difference, everything’s the same and Carmilla’s still here so she obviously still died.”

 LaF nodded and stared out of the window.

 “I think I'll go back to bed, I’m still kinda tired from it all,” Laura said, disposing of the yogurt, she slipped out of the room.

 Carmilla was in the same position Laura had left her in, expect her eyes were closed, Laura would have thought she was asleep if it were possible for her to do that.

She closed the door and joined Carmilla on the bed.

 “You’re going back?” Carmilla asked, as she wrapped her arms around her.

 “I have to, Carm,” Laura replied, relaxing into Carmilla’s shoulder.

 Laura did not know how Carmilla responded to that as her eyes slipped closed and she snuggled closer. 

*

 Laura towel dried her hair, Carmilla was nosing through The Book of The Dead, laying casually across Laura’s bed. Carmilla had ultimately been right, she had still been exhausted from yesterday’s events but after a few more hours sleep, a long hot shower and some comfortable sweat pants, she felt much better.

 She watched Carmilla for a while with a smile on her face, before sitting at her desk and pulling open her laptop. She tapped impatiently on the desk as she waited for it load up and then picked up the old picture of Carmilla, regarded it for a moment and then dropped it when her laptop was ready to go.

 She replied to a few work emails, texted her dad back and then considered texting Danny to say she’d be in work tomorrow but her gaze landed on the photograph again.

 She chewed her lip as she thought about going back again...

 Arms wrapped around and slipped down her arms, Carmilla placed a kiss to her cheek, “I haven’t eaten anything for several years but considering the fact you’ve consumed next to nothing today, I imagine you’re hungry.”

 Laura huffed a laugh and turned to kiss Carmilla and nodded.

 “The curly haired one put food in the fridge while you were sleeping,” Carmilla said, pulling Laura to her feet.

“Ooh, I _love_ Perry,” Laura said, happily, grabbing Carmilla’s hand and tugging her along to the empty kitchen. 

*

 “Carm, I’m going back,” Laura nodded to herself confidently as she entered the bedroom, a little later on.

 “Like _now?_ It’s a little soon, isn’t it?” Carmilla sat up abruptly.

“I feel fine now and I need to learn as much as I can about this time travel thing and this is the only way I’m going to be able to do that,” She grabbed the photo off the desk.

 “You’re just _going_?” Carmilla moved to stand up, Laura wasn't sure whether she angry or hurt.

 “Carm, I’ll be right back, it’ll be no time at all for you,” Laura said, moving toward her.

 Carmilla sighed, “Be careful, just because you don’t belong in that time, it doesn’t mean that you can’t get hurt.”

 Laura reached up and kissed her cheek, “I will, I lo- I’ll see you soon.”

 She blushed and hoped Carmilla didn’t catch her almost slip. She shook her head and closed her eyes. She imagined she was standing in Carmilla’s apartment from seven years ago, easier this time as she’d already been there once and when she opened her eyes, she was stood once again in Carmilla’s bedroom. Except this time there was no Carmilla…

 Laura glanced around and then peeked out into the hall, she could smell food. She wasn’t sure whether to announce her presence or just slip silently into the rest of the apartment.

 She glanced down at her outfit and frowned, why didn’t she change out of these old sweatpants?

 “Carm?”

 “Carmilla?” She repeated, loudly.

 She heard a smashing sound followed by an “ _Oh, shit_!”

 Laura hurried up the hall to the kitchen, “I’m sorry! I’m _so sorry_ , I thought it was best to announce my presence, you know, because I didn’t wanna scare you but obviously it didn’t work-“ She stopped talking, Carmilla looked at her with alarm.

 For a moment, Laura thought she’d have to prepare for Carmilla swinging something else at her but then Carmilla eye’s softened, “You came back…” she stared at Laura with interest for a moment. “I was starting to think it had all been a dream.”

 “Let me help you,” Laura said quietly, gesturing to the mess of smashed glass on the floor.

 Laura leaned down and started to pick up some of the large shards of glass and Carmilla joined her.

 “Is it- Am I-” Carmilla suddenly looked at her with concern in her voice. 

“What’s the date?” Laura asked quickly.

“March 22nd…” Carmilla watched her cautiously.

 Still way over a month.

 “You've still got time,” Laura smiled and Carmilla released a breath she has been holding.

 “Careful,” Carmilla said, taking some pieces of glass from Laura’s hand.

 When they had it all cleaned up, Carmilla started to move around the kitchen, busily.

 “Do you want food?” She asked casually, as if Laura was just any old friend.

 Laura shook her head, “I just ate, besides I don’t know if I can, you know what they about changing things in the past, step on a butterfly, could ruin everything.” Laura shrugged.

 “It’s just dinner, besides, aren’t you planning on changing my future in a big way?” Carmilla raised an eyebrow at her as she grabbed a plate.

“Yeah but you’re worth it,” Laura blushed and Carmilla gave her a confused glance. 

Carmilla settled down with her food and gestured for Laura to sit, she handed her a can of grape soda.

 Laura took it, feeling suddenly awkward, “Thank you.”

 “What’s the iPhone like in 2017?” Carmilla asked, casually.

 Laura shrugged, “Not that different actually.”

 Carmilla chuckled and Laura smiled at her.

 “So, you can see ghosts and I’m a ghost, right?” Carmilla said pointing at Laura with her fork, amused by all of this.

 Laura nodded, taking a sip from her can.

 “I bet it’s _killing_ me…” Carmilla shook her head, smiling.

 “What’s killing you? You’re already dead,” Laura replied.

 “Living with you…” Carmilla smirked.

 “ _Hey_! What does _that_ mean?” Laura said with a frown, taking offense.

 “Being around you and not being able to…” Carmilla paused and then smiled down at her plate.

 “Able to what?” Laura asked.

 “Not that it matters, cause I’m dead there, it’s not like we _could_ …” Carmilla looked up at her.

 “Oh…well, it’s not- I, and-” Laura felt her face heat up as she caught up with Carmilla.

 “Wait a minute…” Carmilla placed her fork down. “Are we… _me_ and _you_?”

 Laura wasn’t sure how to respond, “Well it’s not- You’re as real to me as anyone else, it’s not weird,” she felt the need to defend herself, she fidgeted with the can in her hand.

 “No way…” She sounded impressed for some reason, “You know what, I kinda don’t think I’d mind dying,” Carmilla smirked at her.

 “Don’t say that!” Laura responded seriously.

 “It… was just a joke, Laura.” Carmilla stared across at her.

 “I know but it’s not-”

 There was a knock at the door, they both paused.

 Carmilla got up, Laura wasn’t sure what she should do. Should she let others see her? Should she hide? Should she just go back?

 But when Laura noticed Carmilla’s leather pants leaving the room, she automatically got up to follow them.

 “Carm, I texted you four times and I left 2 messages, what’s going on?” Laura heard an unfamiliar voice.

 “Just let yourself in then,” Carmilla responded, sounding irritated.

 “Well you weren’t quick enough, for all I knew, you were dead in here or something,” The female voice whined.

 Laura stepped into view, it was Ell, Carmilla’s girlfriend, Laura recognised her from the photo in her pocket.

 “Laura, this is Ell. Ell, this is Laura,” Carmilla looked between them.

 “Hi,” Laura said, giving an awkward wave.

  _“Who is this?”_ Ell responded, she looked between them accusatorily and then scowled at Laura.

 Laura felt uncomfortable, she wiped her palms on her sweatpants and then remembered she was wearing them and grimaced. Ell looked like she had just wandered off of a runway somewhere, Laura was suddenly feeling very inadequate.

 “This is my friend, Laura,” Carmilla said with a smile, she wrapped an arm around Ell’s shoulder.

 “ _Friend_ , Laura?” Ell looked at Carmilla with suspicion.

 “Ell, why are you like this? I just told you, Laura is my _friend_.” Carmilla reasoned with her in an irritated tone.

 Laura didn’t like seeing Carmilla wrap her arm around another girl, it made her stomach do flip flops. She couldn’t look at them, she stared at the floor. She tried to tell herself, this wasn’t her Carmilla, it wasn’t the Carmilla she knew.

 “Actually, I better go anyway, I gotta get back,” Laura interrupted quickly, she almost made to move toward Carmilla’s bedroom but then paused, she’d have to leave the apartment now that Ell was here.

 “Bye, Carm. Nice to meet you,” Laura tried to smile at Ell as she walked past them toward the door.

 “You’re going?” Carmilla frowned.

 “I’ll… check in on you,” Laura nodded.

 She didn’t miss Ell’s scowl in her direction.

 Carmilla moved to open the apartment door for her, she smiled almost sadly at Laura and then whispered goodbye.

 Out in the hallway, Laura squeezed her eyes shut and imagined her apartment, her home in present time and when she opened her eyes, she was back… in the hallway outside her apartment.

 The tiredness was starting to overwhelm her and she turned for the door, grabbing at the handle.

Locked, of course it was. She was locked out of her apartment. She banged on the door as hard as she could, before her legs gave out and she fell to the floor.


	12. About Time

There was a throbbing pain in the side of Laura’s head, and she was very uncomfortable, she was lying face down on something hard and cold… the ground? She opened her eyes, in a drowsy state and winced at an ache in her head. Where was she?

She squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them again, her vision moving in and out of focus, she recognized the small table in her living room. Well that meant she was in her apartment at least… she was next to the couch. She lifted her head and rubbed one of her eyes that wanted to stay closed.

Laura glanced from side to side with a frown, had she been asleep on the couch and fallen off? She lifted herself slowly from the floor, it seemed to take a lot of effort for her to do so, a wave of dizziness washed over her. Her head throbbed again and she reached up, feeling a bump next to her temple.

 Dropping heavily onto the chair, Laura looked around the room in confusion, well, she was definitely alone. And then she slowly remembered, going back in time, visiting Carmilla… and then Ell? Ell was there… And then she was locked out of the apartment? Yep… that was it.

 Laura wondered how she’d managed to get to the couch, she couldn’t remember getting back into the apartment at all. She stood slowly, feeling shaky, her limps weak. It was still dark outside, she stumbled in the direction of her bedroom, knocking a pile of LaF’s magazines off the table and then tripping over them. Landing on the floor in a heap.

 …crap, now the other side of her head throbbed.

 Laura considered just giving up and spending the rest of her night here on the floor, when Carmilla’s voice sounded above her.

 “Laura, are you okay?” She sounded amused.

 Laura rolled over onto her back, Carmilla knelt next to her so she was looking at Carmilla upside-down.

“… I fell… are few times, I think,” Laura mumbled, touching the bump on the side of her head again.

“Okay, let’s get you up.” Carmilla smiled at her, walking around and putting her hands out for Laura to grab hold off.

She reached for Carmilla slowly, her hand/eye coordination felt a little off right now. Carmilla heaved her to her feet and then they smiled at each other.

 “What happened?” Laura wobbled on her feet.

Carmilla placed her hands on her waist to steady her.

“You tell me, Cupcake,” Carmilla gave her a serious look.

“Fell off the couch?... I think,” Laura blinked.

“Well that’s fairly obvious… I mean before, in the past,” Carmilla pushed Laura’s hair away from her face and inspected her injury, then gave the side of her head a quick little kiss.

“And why were you outside the apartment?” Carmilla frowned, grabbing Laura’s hand then, leading her slowly towards her bedroom.

“…How’d I get back in?” Laura mumbled.

“LaF dragged you,” Carmilla said casually.

“Huh?” Laura looked at Carmilla, confused.

“I woke them up,” She shrugged, keeping her arm around Laura’s waist as they walked.

 Laura lay on her bed, sighing as her head touched the pillow. Carmilla walked around and lay next to her, scooping Laura up into her arms, her hand gently running through her hair.

“You woke them up?” Laura whispered.

“Yes…it was an emergency,” Carmilla kissed the side of her head again.

“They _saw_ you?” Laura tried to sit up. 

“Laura, I think you need to go back to sleep,” Carmilla said, “And yes, they saw me.”

“They actually _saw you_? Like really _saw you_?” Laura whispered, she could feel her heavy eyes falling shut.

“Go to sleep, Cupcake, we can talk about it tomorrow.” 

*

Laura became aware of warm kisses being strategically placed on her jaw and then her neck, she hummed as she started to wake up, shivering when the lips started sucking on her throat, she wondered if she was dreaming.

She was trapped in one of those perfect moments, not quite awake, not quite asleep. One of those moments before she remembered why she would have to eventually get up and why she couldn’t stay here in bed all day.

She sighed, stretching and moving onto her back. Carmilla hugged her tighter, she pressed a kiss to Laura’s cheek and then to her lips. Laura leaned into the kiss with a smile and then whispered, “Good morning,” against Carmilla’s mouth before kissing her again.

“What time is it?” She murmured.

“6.50.” Carmilla smiled down at her and then their lips meet again.

Laura brought her hands up to the sides of Carmilla’s face and then whined when Carmilla pulled away.

“How do you feel?” Carmilla asked.

“Okay… I think maybe I recovered a little quicker this time,” Laura stretched out her stiff limps.

“Good,” Carmilla said, leaning into kiss her again.

Prepared this time, Laura wrapped her leg around Carmilla and pulled her on top of her properly, bringing her leg around her hip to rest.

Carmilla chuckled, “Creampuff, I don’t think you have time for this…”

 “I don’t have to get up _just_ yet, I could stay here for a _few_ more minutes,” Laura gave a little pout and Carmilla caught her lip between her teeth and then kissed her.

 “How’s your head?”  Carmilla nudged the bump with her nose reminding Laura of it.

 She reached up and touched it herself, “Could be worse,” she shrugged.

 She raked her hands into Carmilla’s hair then and pulled her back down for another more heated kiss, her tongue met Carmilla’s and she didn’t feel so tired anymore.

“How’d you end up outside the apartment last night?” Carmilla murmured, against Laura’s mouth.

“I- _oh!_ I met Ell.” 

Carmilla pulled away a few inches, looking down at Laura with a frown of confusion, “You met… Ell?”

 “No offense Carm, but she didn’t seem very nice,” Laura rubbed the top of Carmilla’s arms and then tried to pull her back down.

“What did she do?” Carmilla sat up further.

 “I mean, nothing in particular, she just seemed like a… b- bad person, what did you _see_ in her?” Laura replied.

 “I don’t… remember,” Carmilla looked uncomfortable and she silenced Laura with another kiss.

 Laura pulled Carmilla completely down on top of her, humming pleasantly as their bodies aligned. Carmilla groaned what sounded like Laura’s name, when Laura’s hips moved against hers.

Laura’s hands grasped at Carmilla’s waist and hip encouragingly as they kissed intensely, Carmilla giving in to the feeling, her hips moved against Laura’s.

“Hmm, wait…Carm, I have to go to work,” Laura moaned breathlessly into the kiss.

“You… started… it,” Carmilla managed to say between kisses. 

Laura sat up, pushing Carmilla up to, her legs locking tightly around Carmilla’s hips. Carmilla wrapped her arms tightly around her, holding her close, kissing her harder, both moaning as Laura’s hands pulled lightly at Carmilla’s hair. 

“Okay, I’m getting up…” She whispered as the kiss continued and Carmilla squeezed at her hips, her finger tips just dipping underneath the band of her sweatpants as her hands raked up and down Laura’s back.

 Carmilla nodded into the kiss, neither of them attempted to slow down, Laura’s hips finding a pleasing rhythm again.

 “Wait… wait,” Laura whispered, pulling away from her mouth an inch, shuddering as Carmilla’s fingers glided over her skin, sliding her shirt up. She stilled her hips, breathing heavily.

 “I have to get ready for work,” Laura’s eye’s slipped closed as Carmilla pressed kisses down her throat, “And you started this, not me,” She added, a little more coherently, leaning away.

 Carmilla chuckled, her lips following her. Laura felt this more than heard it as she leaned away and they fell back onto her pillows again. She knew how easily Carmilla could persuade her to stay if she wanted too, a few more minutes and Laura would probably forget she had to be at work at all.

“Carm…” Laura said, trying to sound authoritative but managing to slip her fingers into Carmilla’s hair tightly. 

Carmilla groaned against Laura’s throat as she fell on top of her and then paused, sighing, “You started it, not me,” she said, suddenly rolling away.

 Laura frowned as Carmilla’s weight left her, feeling lost without it.

 Sitting up, she glanced sideways at Carmilla who was watching her, her hair beautifully tussled, she smiled and licked her bottom lip as they stared at each other and Laura found herself leaning toward her again.

She shook her head, blinking, how had she managed to stay away from Carmilla for so long before now? She stood quickly from the bed, running into the bathroom without looking at Carmilla again. 

*

 Laura hurried around the kitchen, looking for something she could eat for breakfast…. Ah, a banana!

 “Laura, you’re alive!”

 Laura jumped in surprise, dropping her banana, turning to look at LaFontaine.

 “Yes?” She frowned at them in their red pyjamas which clashed horribly with their hair.

 “What happened last night, Laura? The _ghost_!…Carmilla, _I saw her_!” They whispered her name, “She woke me up, she said you were in the hall outside and _you were_! _What’s going on, Laura_? I had to drag you into the apartment. Sorry about that, by the way-”

 Laura picked up her banana as LaF spoke and then interrupted them. “Do you remember what I said about how the teleporting thing sort of… zaps my energy? Well, I was in the hall outside when I came back to the present, I was locked out and I couldn’t get back in and I just… fell asleep.” Laura shrugged.

 “You went back again?” LaF asked with interest, leaning on the side.

 “Yep but I still haven’t made any difference though, Carmilla is still here. I’m getting closer to the right date but… I think I prefer it this way anyway.”

 LaF nodded, “Carmilla seemed very… _concerned_ for you last night,” they gave an almost knowing smile.

 Laura felt her face heating up, “Did she? Oh…” She tried to sound surprised.

 LaFontaine nodded, raising an eyebrow at Laura.

 “LaF, I gotta go to work, I can’t be late after being a no show yesterday,” Laura said, grabbing her bag.

LaFontaine was chuckling as Laura headed for the door. 

*

 Laura yawned widely, shaking her head to wake herself as she wandered along the shelves deep in the archive room, her hand brushing against the boxes as she searched for the correct date.

 You could literally get lost in here and never come out, Laura mused to herself as she took a left turn and then a right, she’d found the correct shelf, she reached up on her tippy toes for the box.

 “Boo,” Someone whispered into her ear.

 Laura screamed, turning to face her attacker.

 “Oh, _Carm! Please_ don’t do that!” Laura whisper yelled, she looked around wondering if anyone had heard her scream.

 Carmilla had appeared calmly beside her and was looking at her with an amused grin, leaning close.

 Laura never felt quite safe in the archive room ever since Vordenburg had haunted the stacks. Some of Laura’s colleagues had taken to staying far away from the floor after an intern was almost flattened by a flying shelving unit.

 Before Laura even had the chance to ask Carmilla what she was doing there she found herself pushed against the shelf as Carmilla kissed her eagerly.

 Laura gasped in temporary surprise and then gripped the tops of Carmilla’s arms, conflicted between enjoying the kiss and pushing her away.

 She allowed herself to enjoy the kiss for a few moments, knotting her hands in Carmilla’s hair, as Carmilla squeezed her waist, pulling their bodies together.

 “What- what are you doing here?” Laura breathed. “I’m kind of at work, Carm,” She glanced around the stack, anxiously.

 “I missed you, Cupcake,” Carmilla pouted, Laura had to stop herself from capturing Carmilla’s bottom lip between her teeth as she frowned.

 Laura blinked, licking her lip, “I miss you too,” she whispered, she stroked Carmilla’s cheek with her thumb.

Carmilla leaned in to kiss her again and Laura gave in with a quiet sigh, pulling away again after a moment, “Woah, wait, Carm, not here,” she whispered.

Carmilla stared at her with heavily lidded eyes and Laura looked away for fear she’d just give in if she looked at her for too long.

 Keeping her eyes on Laura, Carmilla took a step away. She leaned back against the opposite shelf and crossed her arms with an amused smirk.

 Laura breathed a little easier and fixed her clothes. She looked Carmilla up and down and cleared her throat, she wanted nothing more than to keep touching Carmilla but she was at work.

 “Right... my box,” She turned, reached up and grabbed the box, stumbling slightly at the unexpected heaviness, Carmilla’s hands found her waist and she muttered a little, “Careful,” into her ear.

 “Thanks,” Laura said as she brought the box to the floor and knelt next to it.

 Carmilla returned to leaning against the shelf, staring at her.

Laura chewed her lip as she started to search through the box for the correct newspaper, reading the headlines with little interest, she couldn’t stop herself from glancing at Carmilla every few seconds.

 “Carm, it’s difficult to focus when you’re staring at me,” Laura sighed, turning to look at her.

 “I _always_ look at you,” Carmilla smiled, she was staring at her intently, Laura could feel her face heating up.

 Laura stood, glancing sideways down the aisle, approaching Carmilla again.

 She twirled a lock of Carmilla’s hair around her finger, chewing her lip.

 “I’ll be home in a few hours...”

 Carmilla sighed and reached for Laura’s waist, pulling her closer. Laura captured her lips and they kissed slowly.

 Carmilla hummed against her lips, her tongue poking out and grazing Laura’s lip.

 Laura shook her head and giggled, giving Carmilla a disproving look, “Don’t start that,” she smiled.

 The elevator dinged from somewhere across the floor and Laura glanced nervously in that direction.

 “Go,” she whispered to Carmilla, grabbing up her hands, removing them from around her waist.

 Carmilla leaned in to kiss her again, Laura returned the kiss quickly and then pulled away.

“ _Go_ , you’re too much of a distraction,” she muttered, glancing around again.

 Carmilla smiled and Laura placed her hand over Carmilla’s lips as she leaned in close again. 

She watched as Carmilla rolled her eyes and then disappeared from sight. Laura fell forward onto the shelves in front of her, paused for a moment and then shook her head, returning to her box on the floor. 

*

 Laura opened her eyes to the sight of Carmilla’s cosy, warm living room, the curtains were drawn closed as they always were and the orange glow of the lamps that littered the room made it look homely.

 “Oh, hey Cutie,” Carmilla was sitting on the large brown leather couch, leaning over the small table organising what looked like photographs into piles.

 “Hi Carm,” Laura smiled broadly at Carmilla’s casual greeting as if she hadn’t just appeared from nowhere.

 Laura moved across the room toward her. “Just checking to make sure you’re okay?” She asked.

 Carmilla looked up at her with a smirk, “I’m still alive... as you can see.”

 “Well, that’s good, that’s really good,” Laura nodded, awkwardly. She wasn’t sure whether to sit, she didn’t know this Carmilla very well. 

 “It’s May fourth by the way… you really do know when it’s going to happen, don’t you?” Carmilla asked, patting the chair beside her, giving Laura an interested look.

 She sat down quickly, she still had two weeks left, “Of course I know and may the fourth-“

 “Don’t say it… please,” Carmilla interrupted.

 Laura smiled, blushing.

 Carmilla gazed at her for a moment or two longer before returning to her pile of photographs, throwing them into piles quickly like she was dealing cards.

 Laura watched her quietly, sometimes she would pause on a photo, look at it for few seconds and then add it to one of the seemingly random piles.

“What are you-“ Laura started to ask, she paused when the photo of Carmilla and Ell landed on top of one of the piles. The same photo she had in her pocket right now. 

“Are you still seeing her? ...Ell?” Laura asked, Carmilla gave her a quick sideways glance.

“Yes well... yes, kind of,” Carmilla raked a hand through her hair with a sigh. “She’s kinda... difficult.”

“What do you mean?” Laura asked, moving closer.

“Since- She thinks I’m cheating, she doesn’t trust me, I thought we were through but now she won’t leave me alone,” Carmilla said, uncomfortably.

“Stay away from her,” Laura responded quickly, without thinking.

“Is it _her_? Does she...?” Carmilla asked, turning away from the photographs to face her.

“I’m really not sure, but... I don’t want to risk it, Carm,” Laura said, seriously.

“Laura, she’s crazy but she’s not a murderer. She wouldn’t try to kill me, I know that,” Carmilla said with a nod of confidence.

“Why are you still seeing her?” Laura asked, she didn’t care if Carmilla was obviously uncomfortable with this conversation.

“Because… it appeases her, I guess,” Carmilla said, irritated, throwing some of the photos a little more aggressively than necessary.

They were both quiet for a few moments, Carmilla wasn’t looking in her direction now. Laura was considering just leaving when the buzzing of Carmilla’s phone distracted them both.

 Carmilla glanced at it and then released a breath quickly, shaking her head. She turned over the phone so the screen was face down and turned to Laura.

“Do you wanna hang out?” She asked, simply.

“What?” Laura asked in surprise.

“Hang out... with me... _now_?” Carmilla asked again, as the phone buzzed to life once more, they both ignored it.

“Oh… okay,” Laura couldn’t stop herself from smiling.

Carmilla returning smile was so perfect that it made Laura want to lean in and kiss her and she almost did, stopping only when Carmilla spoke.

“I need to get out of here, go for a walk with me?” Carmilla asked. 

Out on the sidewalk, they walked side by side, Carmilla had slipped into a leather jacket and Laura momentarily wished that her Carmilla could wear different clothes because this Carmilla was looking pretty stunning right now.

They walked along in silence, the sun was just starting to show signs of going down and then Carmilla spoke, “So we’re like a thing? In the future... we’re together?”

Laura swallowed, “Um... Yes, I mean we haven’t labelled it exactly but, yeah, I guess,” she nodded, glancing nervously across at Carmilla.

“But, I’m obviously in love with you right?” Carmilla asked, casually.

Laura stumbled and Carmilla grabbed her arm.

 “ _Are you_?” Laura asked, staring at her as if she was asking her Carmilla that question. 

Did Carmilla love her?

They had both stopped walking, Carmilla still gripped her arm, they stared at each other until Carmilla released her and cleared her throat.

“Come on... there’s a nice place up here,” Carmilla murmured, walking on. 

*

“Thanks, Carm,” Laura said as she placed the cocoa and cookies down in front of her and took a seat.

Carmilla took a sip from her own cup, “No problem, Cupcake, it’s only cocoa.”

“And cookies,” Laura said, as she broke one in two and handed half to Carmilla.

 “Is it strange for you? Being here?” Carmilla asked, leaning back in her chair.

“A little, I just saw an advertisement for Kick Ass... I mean, I must have seen that movie like 10 times...” Laura smiled, glancing out of the window with interest. 

Carmilla did not show any signs of even hearing what Laura had said, she just continued to look at her with an amused expression.

Laura took a sip of her cocoa and felt a little awkward as Carmilla studied her.

 “You’re taking this all very well...” Laura said, randomly, feeling the need to fill the silence with words.

“Hmm?” Carmilla sat forward, towards her.

“I told you that you’re going to die and you don’t seem to care,” Laura whispered, leaning closer.

Carmilla smiled, “I thought you said you were going to save me?” 

“I am,” Laura said, getting lost for a moment in Carmilla’s eyes as she stared at her.

“Then why should I worry?” Carmilla whispered.

Laura opened her mouth to speak but no words came out, they were sitting very close, Laura watched as Carmilla’s tongue poked out as she licked her lower lip.

“So, Kick Ass, is it any good?” Carmilla asked with a smirk, sitting back in her seat, defusing the tension and making Laura blush. 

*

 The door to Carmilla’s apartment closed behind them, it was dark outside now and Laura knew she should probably head back. Not that how long she stayed in the past effected what time she returned to her world, it was usually only a few minutes.

But Laura couldn’t stop herself, she could feel herself becoming attached. She kept coming back like an obsession, to this Carmilla, to the Carmilla that was living and breathing.

Carmilla grabbed up her phone which was exactly where she’d left it and she frowned, chucking it onto the couch and stalking off into her bedroom. 

Laura lingered in the living room, she was just on the cusp of calling to Carmilla to say she was heading back when Carmilla appeared again.

 “What do you wanna do now, Cutie?” She said, sauntering over to her slowly.

Laura swallowed, how had Carmilla managed to make that sound so... suggestive? 

Was it hot in here? Laura shuffled around, nervously. 

“What? Erm... C- you-“ Laura stuttered.

Carmilla smirked, sliding her hands into the back pockets of her too tight jeans.

“You don’t have a tv!” Laura blurted out, gesturing around the room. 

Carmilla looked momentarily taken aback by the outburst and then chuckled, “I do... it’s just not in here.” Carmilla gestured toward her bedroom. “I prefer to read anyway.”

“I know,” Laura nodded.

Carmilla turned and walked toward her bedroom, Laura wasn’t sure whether to follow, she didn’t move for a moment until Carmilla looked back at her and then she couldn’t stop her feet from moving.

She had to keep reminding herself, this wasn’t her Carmilla, this wasn’t the Carmilla she could hold hands with, touch, or kiss whenever she felt like it.

Laura had of course been in Carmilla’s bedroom before, they had met in there but this wasn’t quite the same...

“So you do,” Laura said from the doorway when she noticed the tv high up on the wall facing Carmilla’s bed. She frowned, she’d never noticed it before.

Carmilla sat down on the bed, making herself comfortable, leaning back against the pillows, she patted the sheet next to her, inviting Laura to join her.

“Is this what you do to all the girls?” Laura blushed, taking a step closer but not sitting down.

Carmilla rolled her eyes and gave a sarcastic sounding, “Of course,” as she grabbed the remote and focused her attention on the tv.

Laura sat down awkwardly on the edge of bed, glancing between Carmilla and the tv as she flicked through the stations. 

Carmilla dropped the remote onto the bed, happy with her choice. Laura smiled, she was watching LOST.

“You better save my life because the series ends on the 23rd and I gotta know how it ends,” Carmilla said, stretching out.

“Well actually-“ Laura began, making herself comfortable next to Carmilla.

A hand suddenly covered her mouth, “Don’t you dare ruin it for me,” Carmilla whispered close to her.

Laura shook her head, eyes wide.

Carmilla dropped her hand with a smile.

“I was just going to say, even if you die you’ll know what happens because you stick around anyway,” Laura giggled, pushing Carmilla teasingly in the shoulder.

Carmilla chuckled.

 “What episode is this anyway?” Laura focused her attention on the screen. She recognised it, one the of the last few episodes.

 “Ooh, it’s almost the end,” Laura smiled, shuffling around excitedly on the bed and making herself comfortable.

 “Hey, don’t-“

 “Soon you’ll know the sad truth,” Laura continued.

 “No! _Stop_!” Carmilla laughed.

 She tried to cover Laura’s mouth with her hand again but Laura grabbed it.

 “I’m afraid you’ll-“ Carmilla’s leaned over and brought her other hand up and covered Laura’s mouth.

 “If you ruin this for me, I’ll make sure I die and then I’ll haunt your ass forever,” Carmilla said, smirking above her.

Laura grabbed her other hand away from her face.

“You say that as if I wouldn’t be thrilled by the idea,” Laura gasped, breathing heavily.

 Carmilla’s smile slipped into an intense look and her eyes fell to Laura’s lips. Laura’s stomach clenched as a pang of arousal sparked within her, she was suddenly squeezing Carmilla’s hands as the moment stretched on.

“We can’t,” Laura said quickly, releasing her grip on Carmilla’s hands. “You’re... and I’m...” 

“I know...” Carmilla said huskily, sitting up.

“Right,” Laura cleared her throat and Carmilla returned to her position next to her.

They both focused their attentions on the tv screen and then Carmilla turned to look at her.

“Be honest, is the ending good?”

Laura laughed, “I’m not saying anything.” 

*

 Someone was banging on Laura’s apartment door...

 Why? Why was someone banging on the apartment door when Laura was obviously trying to sleep?

The banging continued. Laura turned over and pulled Carmilla closer. LaF would get the door...

 The banging continued.

 “Go away!” Carmilla unexpectedly yelled.

 Laura’s eyes shot open, this wasn’t her bed, this wasn’t even her bedroom. That wasn’t _her_ Carmilla either.

 Carmilla was out of bed and moving toward the bedroom door.

 “Go! Laura, if she sees you in here, in my _bed_... god knows what she’ll do,” Carmilla said, turning to her in the bedroom doorway,

 “What?” Laura pushed her messy hair away from her face.

 “Ell.” Carmilla said before disappearing from the room.

 Laura lay back on the sheets and closed her eyes, Carmilla has been right, her bed was extremely comfortable, unfortunately she wouldn’t be in it much longer.

 When she opened her eyes again, Carmilla was sat next to her with a book and Laura was lying in her own bed.

 “Where have you been now?” Carmilla asked, giving Laura a little rebuking look.

 “ _You_ are so sweet…” Laura smiled at her.

Carmilla shook her head, confused. “Are you okay, Cupcake?”

Laura grabbed the book from Carmilla’s grasp and threw it across the room.

“You are perfect,” Laura continued, climbing onto Carmilla’s lap.

 “ _Hey_ -” Laura silenced Carmilla with a kiss.

 “Hmm, wha I do?” Carmilla words were muffled around Laura’s lips.

“Do you know how hard it is to _not_ kiss you?” Laura said quickly, not giving Carmilla a chance to reply, kissing her hard.

Carmilla groaned, her hands found Laura’s waist and then she dragged her hands up her back.

“Wait-“ Carmilla mumbled.

Their lips separated by half an inch.

“Don’t you usually... black out when you-“ 

Laura lips fell to Carmilla’s perfect jaw.

“Yes, but I kinda fell asleep... before,” she placed a trail of kisses down toward Carmilla’s ear.

“What?” Carmilla asked, more coherently.

“I fell asleep in your bed,” Laura lifted her head to look at Carmilla.

“You were in my bed?” Carmilla frowned.

“Well... _on_ the bed but in an… _unintended_ way,” Laura said, sitting up on Carmilla’s hips. “We kinda hung out and we watched tv together and I must have fallen asleep.”

Carmilla seemed to be considering that, “Oh, okay, not that it would… matter- I mean, it’s-”

Laura rolled her eyes and smiled, leaning down, her face close to Carmilla again.

“That’s what I meant when I said it was so hard… to be with you and not touch you and kiss you when I wanted to.”

Carmilla smiled and pulled Laura down for a kiss, her fingers knotting in her hair. They kissed like this until Laura had to pull away to suck in a breath, Carmilla hands squeezed at her waist and Laura in a moment of inspiration, sat up and pulled her shirt over her head.

Carmilla eyes widened and she pulled Laura down toward her again, kissing her fervently. Laura’s head hit the pillow as Carmilla flipped them over and pushed her down into the mattress.

Laura’s leg wrapped around Carmilla’s waist as their bodies came together and Laura moaned as they kissed, Carmilla’s tongue stroked against hers.

Carmilla’s hands roamed up Laura’s bare stomach and then danced across her ribs, smiling at Laura when she giggled as she tickled her with light arousing touches. Her laughter turned into a moan when Carmilla’s hand unexpectedly squeezed at her bra covered breasts and her hips rocked up against Carmilla’s.

“I love that sound,” Carmilla said, her lips explored Laura’s throat.

Laura wanted Carmilla’s shirt gone too, she started to pull roughly at it, pulling it up, until Carmilla pulled her t-shirt off quickly. Her skin seemed to glow in the dark like an angel, Laura thought she had never seen anything so beautiful.

“An angel?” Carmilla smirked above her.

Laura laughed, “Did I really say that our loud?”

 Carmilla sucked on her collarbones and then preceded down her chest. Laura breathed raggedly as Carmilla placed kisses down the centre of her chest until her hands began to fumble with her bra, sighing as it was removed.

 Carmilla’s lips immediately found Laura’s chest, teasing her for a moment, murmuring, “You’re beautiful, Laura,” against the underside of her breast before her tongue suddenly stroked her nipple. Laura moaned, her hips taking on a mind of their own as she rocked against Carmilla.

 She sucked in a breath to speak, “Carm… did- did you ever… watch the last episode of lost?”

Carmilla froze and then peered up at her in confusion.

“What?” She raised an eyebrow.

“You died… before it... Did you ever see it?” Laura hips still rocked, Carmilla was looking at her as if she had gone mad. 

“What? … I don’t re-, _why?_ Does it really matter right now?” Carmilla mumbled, shaking her head and returned to Laura’s chest.

“ _No_! Not at all,” Laura moaned.

Carmilla’s fingers flicked open the button on Laura’s jeans, she smiled up at her and then sucked languidly on her hipbones.

 After a moment, she very slowly pulled the jeans down Laura’s legs, her lips landed on her knee and she sucked up her thigh attentively.

 Laura raked her fingers through Carmilla’s hair, the only part of her she could currently reach and Carmilla moaned, her eyes closed.

 When Carmilla’s eyes opened again, they were dark, hooded, Laura watched as her tongue licked at her lower lip, her fingers tracing along the band of her underwear.

 Laura squeezed her eyes shut, this was all too much, her chest heaved as she took wheezing breathes.

 She heard her voice, moaning, begging, “Carm, please,” her hips still moving, bumping against Carmilla’s chin as she squirmed.

 She heard Carmilla’s chuckle and then felt her underwear being slowly dragged down her legs. Carmilla’s lips sucked at Laura’s inner thigh, her fingers scrapping lightly down Laura’s stomach as her hands reached up.

“ _Please_!” Laura hands fell to Carmilla’s shoulders, scraping, tugging, anything to get her to just touch her.

 Carmilla’s tongue poked out and licked slowly up Laura’s centre once and disappeared, Laura’s moan turned into a whine of frustration, her hips twisting around for contact.

Her tongue made contact again and once more, torturing Laura by taking her time. She licked again and then sucked Laura’s clit into her mouth, her tongue brushed over it and Laura fisted the bed sheets, tensing up.

Laura’s eyes blinked open when Carmilla was suddenly whispering in her ear, “I never thought…” her fingers now rubbed at her clit, “… I’d get to…” Laura moaned and Carmilla smiled, brushing her nose against hers, “…do this again.”

Laura couldn’t speak, couldn’t even think of any words to say.

Carmilla’s fingers dipped lower, a finger teased her entrance, Laura’s writhed underneath her sucking in short breaths.

“You are divine,” Carmilla whispered, and then kissed her, her fingers entering her at the same time. Laura shuddered, whining against Carmilla’s mouth.

“ _Yessss_ ,” She whined, her hips moving sporadically, trying to pick up the pace.

 “You were worth the wait…” Carmilla groaned as she sucked on Laura’s throat, her fingers moving at a grovelingly slow pace. Laura’s hands gripped the back of her neck and shoulders.

 Carmilla smiled.

 “Carm…” Laura pleaded.

 “Carmmm…”

“Yes, Cupcake?” She replied with an evil smirk. Her fingers abruptly speed up, the palm of her hand rubbed against Laura’s clit. 

Laura shook her head, this was too good.

 “I love you,” Carmilla whispered as she watched her.

 Laura’s hips rutted, her legs shook with bliss.

 She moaned, “Carm… I love you, I love you, I love you,” she chanted as she gave herself over to the feeling and pleasure wrecked her body.

 “Carm…” Laura sighed, her vision blurred.

“Carm…” She lifted her hand to Carmilla’s hair, her arm was so heavy.

“Carm?”

“Laura?” Everything was dark. 

*

Why am I naked? Laura thought, pulling the sheet up around her.

She opened her eyes, she was in her bedroom, good… she relaxed against the pillow.

And then the memories came rushing back.

Carm and the sex and… _oh crap_ , did she fall asleep? 

She sat up quickly, “Carm?” 

Carmilla was dressed, sitting at the bottom of the bed her face hidden behind her book.

“What-“ Laura began.

 “You fell asleep…” Carmilla smiled, moving to lie next to her. “You must have been tired… from the whole time travel thing.”

 “Oh god, I’m sorry Carm! I didn’t mean too! I don’t remember… I mean, I remember the sex, the _amazing_ sex,” she empathised, grabbing Carmilla’s hand.

 Carmilla smiled.

 “But it’s not-”

 “Laura-”

 “I can’t bel-”

 “ _Laura_ -”

 Laura surged forward and kissed her, Carmilla chuckled.

 “Will you just…” She took Laura’s face in her hands, “Calm down?”

 Laura pouted and shook her head, Carmilla rolled her eyes but leaned closer, their lips almost touching.

 “You have work,” Carmilla whispered, she looked as if she was trying to hold in a laugh.

Laura grimaced, “I hate you…”

“I thought you loved me?” Carmilla teased.

Laura’s stomach flipped, she’d almost forgotten about that.


	13. I Will Wait

“Carmilla?” Laura sulked as she wandered around Carmilla’s apartment.

“Carm? Are you here?” Her stomach churned as she called into the empty apartment but no Carmilla appeared.

Laura started to feel panic rising within her, she clambered across the apartment toward Carmilla’s bedroom, slamming open the door.

 Empty… It looked as it always did which calmed her a little, she stood in the doorway and took a few steps into the room. She noticed on the bedside table, the old polaroid camera that lay broken under the window seat in her time… it wasn’t broken yet. She grabbed up the clock on Carmilla’s beside table.

 May 16th

 A wave of both relief and nausea seemed to wash over Laura at once. She wasn’t too late, Carmilla still had two days, _only_ had two days left...

 Laura dropped the clock with a clatter when the front door opened and closed, she snatched it up quickly, returned it to the desk and scrambled out of the room.

 “Carm!” Laura gasped, feeling a whole lot better now she was face to face with Carmilla.

 “Laura, _Christ_...,” Carmilla shook her head, “How long have you- is everything good?” She asked, looking alarmed.

 Should she say something to her? Warn her? 

 “Is it... today?” Carmilla said, staring at her.

 “Not today,” Laura shook her head quickly, “...but it’s soon.”

 "Next year soon? Next month soon? Tomorrow soon? How soon, Laura?” Carmilla inquired, taking a few steps closer to her.

 Laura ran a hand through her hair, “Carm, it’s- I’m- I promise I’ll tell you when the time comes.”

 Carmilla considered that and then nodded slowly.

 What if she she’s too late, what if she misses it and she never manages to save Carmilla, she had no idea how to really control the date she came back too, what if she skipped right over it and couldn’t get back?

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Laura heard herself saying, Carmilla smiled. 

“I believe you, Cutie.” She smirked

 Carmilla wandered into the kitchen, Laura followed.

 “Are you hungry?” Carmilla asked, poking her head out over the fridge door.

 “Um... sure,” Laura shrugged, taking a seat at the kitchen isle.

“Great, I’ll order pizza,” She closed the fridge door with a snap.

*

 Carmilla handed Laura a cool beer, sitting down on the couch next to her with one of her own.

 “Cheers,” Laura said, clinking her bottle with Carmilla who rolled her eyes.

 Laura grabbed up the first slice of pizza, helping herself.

 “What happened?” Laura asked.

 “What happened with what?” Carmilla asked as she picked up a slice of her own.

 “Ell?” Laura responded quickly.

 “Oh, I ended it for good, the other night,” she shook her head as if it was an upsetting memory to recall.

 “How’d she take it?” Laura asked, taking a sip from her bottle.

 Carmilla shrugged, “Not- well, she wasn’t thrilled...”

 Laura chewed her pizza, “And she’s not bothering you anymore?”

“No, she’s a little-“

There was a knock on the door, they both looked toward it.

 “Oh, crap...” Carmilla sighed, dropping her pizza slice and wiped her hands on her pants. “Laura, I think you should hide.”

“What!?” Laura whispered.

The door banged again and then a voice sounded beyond it, “Carmilla? Babe?”

Carmilla looked toward her door and then back at Laura.

“Go! Hide in the spare room, she’ll never go in there,” Carmilla pushed Laura in that direction.

 Laura was now alone in the spare bedroom with half a slice of pizza in her hand. She leant back against the door, listening... she had a bad feeling about this.

 “What do you want?” She heard Carmilla say.

 Laura couldn’t hear Ell’s response.

“We broke up, Ell, in case you don’t remember, what are you doing here?” Carmilla spoke, louder.

“I just came for the rest of my things,” Ell responded, the sound of her voice made Laura shudder. 

“Things? You have _nothing_ in this apartment!” Carmilla sounded irritated.

“Yes, clothes and- Is someone else here?”

Laura held her breath as she listened.

 “Just grab your things,” Carmilla ignored her question.

 “Is there someone here?” Ell asked again, she sounded agitated.

 “No,” Carmilla’s voice sounded further away as if they moved toward Carmilla’s bedroom.

 “Then why are there _two_ bottles here?” Ell whined.

Laura couldn’t make out what Carmilla was saying, she was too far away.

 “As if I’d believe that!” Laura heard Ell yelling now.

 “We’re not together anymore!” Carmilla replied.

 Laura missed Ell’s response.

 “It’s not just a hiccup Ell! We’re over!” Laura had never heard Carmilla sound so angry.

 “It’s her, isn’t it? That girl you had here before? _Laura_?” She spat Laura’s name with spite, Laura scowled at the floor.

“You know actually, _yes_ it’s her,” Carmilla said, Laura could see Carmilla’s glare in her mind’s eye, Carmilla had glared at her enough times when they first met to know what that looked like.

Ell said something else Laura couldn’t quite catch.

 “ _No_ , it’s because of _you_!” Carmilla yelled.

 Laura took a bite of her pizza as see listened.

 “-now isn’t she? Where?” Ell was shouting. “Where is she!?”

Wait, what was she saying?

 “She’s not here, I told you!” Carmilla shouted.

 Laura sucked in a breath at the thought of Ell discovering her hiding place. The small piece of the pizza still sitting half chewed in her mouth was sucked down her throat.

 She began to cough and splutter violently unable to stop herself.

 “Crap- holy-“ she coughed more, flinging herself away from the door as if the distance might mask her retching but Laura was almost certain everyone in the building could hear her episode.

The door slammed open and Laura turned in alarm, expecting to see a furious looking Ell in the doorway but instead Carmilla came charging into the room.

“Are you okay?” She asked placing a hand on Laura’s back.

Laura held up her hand and nodded, coughing again. 

“I’m fine,” She wheezed.

 Carmilla rubbed her back in a concerned sort of way. Laura has almost forgotten that Ell was still there.

 “I see, hiding in here because you’re too scared to face me!?” Ell stormed into the room. “I hope you _choke_.” She shouted.

 Carmilla stood in front of her, Laura couldn’t see. “ _Don’t_.” Carmilla was seething, her hands were clenched into fists.

 “What _is_ this?!” Ell screeched.

 “Just go,” Carmilla said almost too calm.

 Ell laughed a horrid fake sound and Laura poked her head around to catch a glimpse.

 “Fine, I’ll be seeing ya, Carm,” she gave a little wave, her eyes crazy.

 “No, you won’t,” Carmilla replied quickly.

 Ell laughed again and disappeared from the room. Neither of them moved until they heard the apartment door slamming shut, Carmilla turned back to Laura.

 “Are you okay, Laura?” Carmilla pushed a lock of hair behind Laura’s ear.

 “I’m fine, I’m good, I’m sorry about that, Carm. I choked on the pizza.” Laura blushed with embarrassment.

 Carmilla smiled, squeezing her shoulder.

 “Doesn’t matter, I think we got the point across, don’t you think? She’ll leave us alone now.”

 “ _You_ alone... she’ll leave _you_ alone, you’re the one who’s life is in danger, Carm,” Laura said, picking up the half eaten slice of pizza which she had abandoned.

 “I won’t leave the apartment, she can’t get in,” Carmilla shrugged, heading back out toward the living room.

 “You die in the apartment! You _have_ to leave,” Laura’s eyes widened at the thought, maybe it was that easy.

 “I’m not going anywhere because of Ell, she’s not driving me out of my own home! She won’t… I don’t think she would do anything like that, she wouldn’t hurt me… she’s a little crazy, I mean talks to herself crazy but I don’t think she’s got it in her. Also, if I’m going to be murdered, I don’t think it matters where I go.” Carmilla returned to the couch.

Laura took a few gulps of her beer, no longer hungry.

 “I’m sorry about that, Laura,” Carmilla said, running a hand through her hair.

 “Please, be careful,” Laura said, sitting down, looking at her pointedly.

 Carmilla was silent for a moment and then when she spoke it was to Laura’s surprise, vulnerable and sensitive.

 “Do you… have to go back?” Carmilla asked looking across at her sadly.

 “What?” She asked, unbelieving.

 “Do you have to leave? Why can’t you just stay here with me now?” Carmilla frowned.

“I’ll come back,” Laura said, placing a comforting hand on her knee.

 Carmilla sighed, “I know, I just get the feeling the next time I see you might be the _last_ time I see you.”

 “Carm, I told you, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

 “Exactly... if you save me, what reason have you got to come back?” Carmilla said, crossing her arms over herself, protectively.

 Laura gave a little laugh of disbelief, “I’ll never forget you, _I’ll find you,_ if that’s what you want...”

“What in 2017? Laura that’s _years_ away! God knows what life will be like for me then!” She said, dejectedly. “It’s not fair that you get to take the short path and I have to wait for so long.”

 Laura felt tears stinging her eyes, she hadn’t been expecting this, “I’m sorry... but I can’t stay here, Carm. You know that, I don’t belong here.”

 Carmilla took some deep breaths, almost as if she was willing herself to hold it together.

 “I can stay for a little while longer, if you’d like...” Laura reasoned, giving her leg another reassuring squeeze.

 Carmilla shook her head, “It’s okay. I kinda want to be on my own anyway,” She stood.

 Laura surged forward, wrapping her arms around Carmilla’s waist.

 Carmilla returned the hug and Laura unwillingly pulled herself away.

 “I’ll see you soon,” she said, “I- I- I’ll go.”

 “Bye, Carm,” she said quietly.

 Carmilla gave a small sad smile, “See ya, Cutie.”

 Back in the present, Laura couldn’t stop the tears from coming. A sob wracked her body and she hurried into her bedroom.

 “Laura, what’s wrong?” Carmilla frowned with concern as Laura dropped down onto the bed next to her.

 “Are you okay? Laura?” 

 Laura cried into her pillow.

 “ _What happened_?” Carmilla urged her.

 Laura could feel the sleep coming.

 “2 days, Carm! _2 days_!” She cried. “It’s going to happen and I don’t know what to do and I can’t leave you but I can’t let you die!”

 Carmilla pulled her into her arms and kissed the top of the head.

“It’s okay, it’ll be okay,” Carmilla reassured her.

“I can’t let anything happen to you... _I can’t_.” Laura sobbed, her head felt heavy.

She couldn’t stop the tiredness from taking over and she cried in Carmilla’s arms until she fell asleep.

*

 Laura placed hot cocoa on her desk in front of her and sat heavily in her chair. She hadn’t spoken to Carmilla since she had woken, she was afraid she’d have a break down if she started to talk about it.

 “How are you feeling?” Carmilla asked, taking the window seat.

 “Okay… I think it’s getting easier every time, less of a recovery period. Getting used to the whole time travel thing now,” she responded quietly.

 “Are you going to tell me what happened?” Carmilla looked at her seriously.

 Laura was silent for a few seconds and then the words flowed. “If I let you die then you’re _stuck here like this forever_! If I save you, _I lose you_! I _can’t_ let you die, I could never do it, not now, _not ever_! And it’s happening Carm, I feel it! I know it’ll happen!”

 “What happened?” Carmilla asked again.

 “You’ll wait for me, right? You will?” Laura turned to stare at Carmilla, a wild look in her eyes.

 “What?” Carmilla frowned.

 “If I saved you, you’d wait for me to find you again?” Laura asked. 

 “Erm… I’m sure I would,” Carmilla shrugged.

 “Good, good, then I’ll save you, come back and I’ll find you,” Laura nodded her head, this was all becoming a little too much for her to handle.

 “Right...” Carmilla looked down at the floor, “The _other_ me though, it won’t be _me_ , Laura.”

 “What else can I do?! I’m not going to let you die! You don’t know what it’s like! This is killing me!” Laura yelled.

 Carmilla sat back a little in alarm at Laura’s reaction.

 “Laura-”

 “I love you, Carmilla,” The tears started to flow once more.

 Carmilla moved forward and knelt in front of her, she took Laura’s hands in hers.

 “And I love you… Laura, if I know me and if you’ve had quite the same effect on past me than I’m almost certain that I’d wait for you, okay?”

 Laura smiled and wiped at her tears with the sleeve of her sweater.

 Carmilla leaned up to place a kiss on her forehead.

 “Can you please be careful? There’s nothing I can do to help you and it’s _so_ frustrating. If something happened to you...”

 “I’m trying to help _you_ , Carm, not the other way around.” Laura huffed a laugh, leaning down to kiss her.

 “Tomorrow.” Laura said with a nod of finality. “I’m going back tomorrow and if it’s right- I’m going to save you.”

 “Tomorrow?” Carmilla frowned.

 “Tomorrow,” Laura nodded again, “So, this could- This could be our last day together…”

 Carmilla stared at Laura as if she was trying to commit her face to memory and then she closed her eyes.

“Well, let’s not waste it then,” Carmilla whispered, leaning forward and capturing Laura’s lips in a kiss.

*

 Laura marched back and forth across her bedroom, anxiously. Was this a bad idea? How on earth was she actually going to save Carmilla? Neither of them were bulletproof and Laura was kinda hoping not to die today either…

 “So, what will happen to me? Am I just going to disappear or something?” Carmilla asked, placing her hands on the tops of Laura’s arms and leaning her forehead against Laura’s.

 Laura chewed her lip, this was harder than she ever imagined it would be, “I really don’t know, Carm… but… I love you.” She added, hopefully.

 She squeezed the almost ruined photo of Carmilla and Ell in her hand, the photo she always used to travel back in time. She hadn’t ever imagined she would have to ever say goodbye to Carmilla, she took a few shaky breaths.

 “I love you too,” Carmilla whispered, her eyes were closed. “ _Please_ be careful.”

 “This isn’t goodbye,” Laura sniffled.

 “Isn’t it?” Carmilla took a step back, placing her hands on Laura’s shoulders. “None, of this will ever have happened.”

 Laura shook her head, “Of course it will have, it will be impossible for me to forget any of this, I will always remember you.”

 Carmilla gave a half smile, “Well, maybe that’s all that matters.”

 They kissed slowly and Laura murmured, “You never know, Carm, this might not be the end…”

 She wasn’t sure whether Carmilla responded because when she opened her eyes, she was standing in Carmilla’s bedroom. Laura staggered forward, reaching out for Carmilla, who wasn’t there.

 She took a deep breath, bracing herself for what was to come.

 When she turned to face the room, Carmilla was asleep in bed, the bedside clock showed the time and the date. This is it. May 18th 2010\. The day Carmilla dies.

 Laura swallowed, she could feel tears welling up in her eyes, this wasn’t the time to have a break down, she told herself. 

“This isn’t the day Carmilla dies, it’s the day you save her,” Laura whispered out loud.

“Laura? Is that you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting close to the end nowwwww


	14. Time For A Change

“Carm… it’s me,” Laura squinted into the dark room, she could just make out the form of Carmilla stretching under the sheets.

She sat up, her expression one of concern, she took a deep breath and pushed the hair out of her face.

“It’s today isn’t it?” She spoke quietly.

Laura said nothing, she was too scared to speak, if she opened her mouth, she wasn’t sure what she’d say. She had promised Carmilla she would tell her but she couldn’t bring herself to deliver the news.

She shook her head, no, a lie.

Carmilla stared at her, Laura feared she probably knew it was a lie but she nodded in return, accepting her answer.

“Okay, just let me get dressed and I’ll come out,” Carmilla said, moving to stand. The way Carmilla spoke, suggested to Laura that she did in fact not believe her.

Laura left the room so Carmilla could dress, she walked in a daze around the living room staring at the piles of books and odd photographs, some she’d seen before, others she hadn’t. She picked up the old polaroid camera that was now lying on the small living room table and fiddled with it uneasily.

Laura gasped when Carmilla finally appeared, there she was, wearing the exact outfit Laura always saw her Carmilla wearing back in her time. The outfit she had died in.

“Carm, I had an idea, can you… take a picture of the both of us? Please?” She asked, holding out the small camera to Carmilla.

“Um.. yeah sure? Why?” She asked with curiosity.

“I just need something from this exact date… just in case,” Laura said, trying to sound calm and collected.

“Ok.” Carmilla’s eyebrows drew together, suspiciously.

Carmilla took a hold of the camera, fiddled with it for a moment and then turned to Laura, “A picture of the both of us?” 

Laura nodded, “Yes, I think I’d like a photo of the both of us.”

 Carmilla pulled her along next to her and held the camera up, Laura tried her best to smile and Carmilla who looked perfect as always kissed Laura’s cheek at the last moment.

Laura blushed red and Carmilla smiled at her.

The small photo slid from the bottom of the camera and Carmilla pulled it away. 

“Here hold this,” Carmilla said, handing the camera to Laura, it slipped between her grasp and fell to the floor.

“Oh shit,” Carmilla looked down at the broken camera.

“I’m sorry!” Laura exclaimed, leaning and down and swiping it up from the floor.

Laura’s mouth dropped open, this was the camera exactly how she knew it.

“Don’t worry about it, Cutie, it was nothing special,” Carmilla said with a shrug of her shoulders, “Besides, I don’t think it really matters now, does it?” She gazed at Laura, warily, waiting for the truth.

Laura chewed her lip, “We need to hide the photo, somewhere where I can still find it in the future… if I need it.”

Carmilla smiled down at the now visible photo of the two of them, Laura stomach churned as she looked it and she had to blink a few times to stop herself from crying.

“Come on,” Laura said, grasping Carmilla’s arm lightly and leading her toward the bedroom. 

“Where are we going to hide it?” Carmilla asked, looking around the room.

“Here, I think,” Laura said, dropping down in front of the window seat.

She opened and stared down into the space below the window, it was filled with all the things she recognised… except there were a few things missing.

She dropped the broken camera in and turned to face Carmilla.

“The jewellery box, where is it?” Laura said with a sudden realisation.

“Um… over here,” Carmilla grabbed it up from the book shelf.

“Do you have the key?” Laura asked, grabbing the box.

“Yeah, it’s around here somewhere,” Carmilla looked around and then rummaged around in her bedside draw.

“Here,” She held the key up with a smile and a nod. 

“Perfect,” Laura murmured, she placed the photo of the two of them into the box and then locked it.

She turned for the window seat, dropped the jewellery box onto the pile and then considered it.

“I think that’s it, Carm,” Laura whispered, leaning forward and slowly letting the lid drop closed.

“It?” Carmilla asked, coming to stand next to her.

“The items in there, are all the items I’ll find later on… in the future. The jewellery box, I could never open but now I have the key.” Laura said, holding it up and staring at it for a moment and then pocketing it.

Carmilla raised her eyebrows and nodded, “Nice, Cutie. All part of your plan to save me?”

“More of a backup plan, last resort… if this goes sideways, I’ve got the key to jewellery box, with the photo of you and me, so I can come back to this date again if I need to,” Laura said with a confident nod, feeling a little better about things.

Carmilla took a deep breath, “And this day is important because…”

“No reason,” Laura said, turning for the bedroom door to escape the room and the question.

“Do you wanna get out of here?” Laura asked, turning to face Carmilla as they entered the living room. 

“Yeah, sure,” Carmilla grinned. 

Out on the sidewalk, Carmilla took her hand, Laura glanced up at her, she squeezed Carmilla’s fingers for a moment.

“So, speaking theoretically, of course,” Carmilla began, “If today was your last day, how would you spend it?” Carmilla gazed at the intently.

“Theoretically?” Laura asked, she knew exactly how she’d spend it… she’d spend every last moment she could with Carmilla and probably see her dad one more time. “Erm… I don’t think it’s necessarily what you do, it’s who you spend it with,” she gave Carmilla’s hand another squeeze.

Carmilla considered that, “Okay,” she nodded, “Well, I’m hungry so let’s go eat breakfast.”

*

 “I love pancakes but I hardly ever eat them,” Laura beamed at Carmilla as she started to eat.

Carmilla smiled happily as she gazed at her, it made Laura blush to be regarded like that.

“That’s a shame, I’d make pancakes for you any day,” Carmilla said, “And I will if you let me,” She added.

Laura almost dropped her fork, “Carm, of course I’d let you…”

“Laura, if you save me and I… wait for you, how- how will you even remember me?”

“What do you mean? I can’t forget you, it’s impossible. I’ll remember everything, for me, everything that’s happened, has happened. I don’t know how it’ll work for you but it’s not important right now anyway.” Laura replied.

Carmilla nodded and looked a little grim but continued to eat.

“So… you haven’t pissed anyone off or anything have you? No hitmen looking for you? _Seen_ anything suspicious?” Laura asked, nonchalantly.

Carmilla chuckled and shook her head, “No.”

“Seen Ell?” Laura asked, trying to keep the conversation casual.

“No, I haven’t, she’s left a few messages but I haven’t seen her since the other night when you were there,” she responded, taking a sip of her coffee.

“Good, we just have to make sure we stay away from her,” Laura said, pointing her fork.

“Right,” Carmilla smiled, “Well, she lives literally down there.” She pointed offhandedly out of the nearby window.

Laura nearly spat out her cocoa, “WHAT!? Are you losing your mind!?”

Carmilla shrugged, “You wanted pancakes, this place does the best pancakes…”

“Are you trying to put yourself in harm’s way?” Laura frowned at her.

“Would you calm down; how do you even know it’s her?” Carmilla raised a brow.

“Oh my god, we’ve gotta get out of here,” Laura said, glancing around apprehensively.

“Fine, I was finished anyway,” Carmilla stood. “Can you stop looking so suspicious?”

“Carm, do you not understand the seriousness of the situation?” Laura turned to her abruptly.

“Sure, Cutie, but um…didn’t you say I _wasn’t_ going to die today?”

“You aren’t!” Laura glared and headed for the door.

Carmilla caught Laura’s arm as she walked down the street, “Laura, you can’t be angry with me, not today.”

Laura almost smiled, “I know that, I just-”

A loud bang sounded from somewhere nearby, it echoed around the street and Laura instinctively grabbed Carmilla and held her close, looking around wildly for an attacker.

“As nice as this is,” Carmilla voice was almost inaudible as her face was pressed against Laura’s collarbone. “- I think I’m good…” 

“Right,” Laura released a sigh of relief, letting go of Carmilla slowly. “I’m sorry.”

“It sounded like a car or something to me,” Carmilla said, fixing her hair.

“Can we please- I feel exposed,” Laura glanced around the street.

Carmilla chuckled and wrapped an arm around Laura’s shoulders, “Laura, everything is fine.”

They walked on down the street, “Everything is _not_ fine, this is driving me mad,” Laura said, looking over her shoulder.

 “Let’s hide in here,” Carmilla smiled, turning them into a small record store.

Laura visibly calmed upon stepping inside.

“I love it in here,” Carmilla whispered, giving a casual wave to someone she must have known.

“Yeah, well it’s gone in my time,” Laura replied bluntly, gazing at rows of CDs but not really seeing them.

“What? Are you serious?” Carmilla frowned. “I don’t wanna live in your time.”

“Seven years isn’t that long, Carm,” Laura said as she picked up a random CD and stared at the back of the case.

Carmilla perused the old records, flicking through the albums as if she’d done it thousands of times, “Hey Laura, look,” she smiled, holding up a record.

 Laura stared at it for a moment, “Is that the soundtrack from the movie _Ghost_?”

Carmilla chuckled, “Sure is,”

Laura nodded, “Very funny."

Carmilla placed the vinyl under her arm.

“Are you buying that?” Laura hurriedly whispered as she approached her.

“Of course,” Carmilla replied coolly.

“Why?”

“Because, _Ohhhh myyyyy lovvve, my darling, I’ve hunnngered for your touch…”_ Carmilla sang boldly.

“Oh my god – _stop_!” Laura glanced the store, she couldn’t stop herself from smiling as Carmilla started to laugh.

“Don’t draw attention to us!” Laura urged, blushing red as others looked in their direction.

“Laura, my killer isn’t hiding in the back of this record store.” Carmilla said, moving along the rows.

“Carmilla-”

“Laura, okay… I won’t draw anymore attention to myself, happy?” Carmilla said, brushing past her, closer than necessary with a smirk.

They left the store with Carmilla’s purchase, she grabbed Laura’s hand when they reached the sidewalk.

*

 “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” Laura said as they entered Carmilla’s apartment.

“I didn’t mind, at least while you were asleep you weren’t worrying for my life,” Carmilla said taking off her jacket.

“How long?” Laura blushed, hoping she hadn’t snored.

“At least an hour, you missed most of the movie,” Carmilla smirked.

“Time travel is really tiring, Carm, you can’t put me in a dark room and expect me not to fall asleep.” Laura pouted.

“I’ll remember that,” she rolled her eyes, heading for her bedroom.

“Do you have any cocoa?” Laura called down the hall.

“Erm… I’m not sure,” She called back.

Laura entered the kitchen, guessing where Carmilla might keep cocoa, “If not, I can go grab some,” Carmilla appeared.

“Nah, you don’t have to do that,” Laura replied with a dismissive wave of her hand.

“I don’t mind,” Carmilla said, as she opened a few cabinets.

“No, I don’t think we should be apart,” Laura responded.

“Laura, a few minutes isn’t-”

“No, it’s a bad idea.” Laura shook her head.

“Okay, we'll go together,” Carmilla smiled.

“Good…” Laura nodded.

They were stood in the store, Laura stared at the abundance of cocoa choices, taking her time.

“Which one?” Carmilla asked, uninterested.

 “Hmm…well… “ She reached for one and dropped her hand.

 “Laura?” Carmilla urged.

 “This one- No, this one!” Laura struggled to choose.

 Carmilla smiled, “Aren’t they all essentially the same?”

 “ _No_! Look, this one is salted caramel flavour,” Laura responded and Carmilla frowned.

 “Okay… not that one then, this one, this is the one!” She picked a standard looking one of the shelf.

“Great, let’s go.”

Carmilla tugged Laura’s hand as they crossed the street.

“Oh, shit, what was that?” Carmilla asked, looking around.

“What was what?” Laura asked, starting to panic. 

“I thought I heard… let’s just get inside,” Carmilla looked around suspiciously, pushing Laura in front of her. 

“Are you scared, Carm?” Laura tried not to but couldn’t help but smile.

“No.” Carmilla cracked some of her knuckles, menacingly.

Laura rolled her eyes, “You looked a little scared back there.”

“I think you’re getting in my head, Cutie,” Carmilla said as they entered the apartment.

“Lock the door,” Laura insisted. “I’ll make the cocoa." 

Carmilla leaned in the kitchen doorway and smiled as she watched Laura move around her kitchen, she then approached her stereo, removing the record she had bought from the packaging and placing it on the turntable.

Laura paused as the song began to play and smiled, shaking her head.

_Oh, my love, my darling  
I've hungered for your touch_

“Come and dance with me,” Carmilla appeared in the kitchen doorway.

Laura smirked, “Shouldn’t we be shaping pottery together?”

_A long, lonely time  
Time goes by so slowly_

Carmilla smiled, taking her hand and leading her into the living room.

_And time can do so much  
Are you still mine?_

Carmilla’s hand landed on her waist and she pulled Laura close. Laura felt her heart beat pick up as Carmilla rested her forehead against hers as they swayed to the music.

  
I need your love  
I need your love

Laura laughed when Carmilla unexpectedly spun her around and then pulled her close again.

_God speed your love to me_

Laura could feel Carmilla’s warm breath on her face, it reminded her so much more of the fact that Carmilla was standing before her living and breathing. Her hand slipped up to Carmilla’s chest to feel her heart beating and tears were welling up in her eyes. 

And then she was kissing her, Carmilla’s hand gripped her waist tighter and she returned the kiss, needily. Laura gripped the back of her neck, it was the same but also so different from kissing her Carmilla.

 Dancing no more, Carmilla sucked in a quivering breath, her skin was so warm and Laura sighed when Carmilla’s tongue stroked hers.

 “Come on,” Carmilla grabbed her hand and led them towards her bedroom, kissing Laura once more on the journey, pushing her against the wall, “If tonight’s my last night, I’m going to make the most of it.”

 In the bedroom, they kissed languidly, standing at the bottom of Carmilla’s bed, “I’m going to-”

 The first inkling Laura had that something was wrong was when Carmilla paused, she opened her eyes, Carmilla wasn’t looking at her but across the room, her eyes wide and she gripped Laura’s waist hard.

 Laura’s stomach churned and icy cold feeling slipped down her spine, she turned slowly.

 “I knew it!” Ell was stood in the bedroom doorway, she looked angry and wild.

“No!” Laura yelled, “Please!” She stood in front of Carmilla like a barricade. 

Ell took a few steps into the room and from her coat pocket she withdrew a gun, she shook with anger or nervousness, Laura wasn’t sure which.

“Please, you don’t have to do this!” Laura yelled.

“Ell,” Was all Carmilla said, quiet and calmly.

Ell laughed, harshly and she waved the gun around, Laura and Carmilla both flinched away from it.

“Carmilla, darling… We could be together… forever, did you know that? If I do _this_ …” She held up the gun.

“Please,” Laura said again. “Kill me, Kill me instead!”

 “NO!” Carmilla suddenly yelled, losing her calm demeanour, she tried to move Laura out of harm’s way but she stood strong as Ell spoke again.

 “Well… I came here so me and Carmilla could be together… but actually I could only imagine how satisfying it would be killing you.” She smiled wickedly.

 There was a deafening bang in the room. Carmilla pushed Laura to the side swiftly, she fell landing mostly on the bed but quickly found her footing.

 There was another bang and Laura heard glass breaking, the window.

 Back on her feet, Laura tackled Carmilla to the ground when the sound of another gunshot filled the room.

 There’s no way out of this, she told herself, this would be the end for the both of them.

Laura glanced to the side, she couldn’t see Ell anywhere, so she did the only thing that came to her in that moment. She clung tightly to Carmilla and closed her eyes, she imagined her bedroom, her bedroom back home in her time, she gripped Carmilla hard.

 There was nothing, nothing happened.

 Did she really expect it too?

Laura opened her eyes, Carmilla was still beneath her, her eyes closed, she looked asleep. The room was quiet, too quiet, she looked up, looking for a weapon, anything but… this was her bedroom…

 This was her room!

 Carmilla was here in her room, in her time!

 Laura dropped down beside Carmilla, “Carm!... Carm!... CARMILLA!”

 Nothing, Laura glanced down at her body, she wasn’t hurt, she wasn’t shot anywhere. She’d saved her...

 “Carm…” Laura shook her, panic reaching boiling point.

 “Carmilla! Wake up! Carmilla! Please!” Tears stung her eyes, she was so confused.

 That heavy feeling was starting to take hold, she’d be asleep in seconds.

 Not giving up, she tried to shake her awake again, “Carm, please, Carmilla, it’s me…”

 “Laura?” LaFontaine was staring down a them, a horrified expression on their face.

 “LaF… help me…”

 “Laura, what have you _done_?!”

 She tried to respond but she couldn’t form words, she felt herself slipping, everything was growing darker and darker.

“ _Oh, Laura, no…_ ” She heard LaFontaine saying before she fell forward in a heap over Carmilla’s body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really love you guys by the way


	15. Girlfriend In a Coma

“I don’t understand, LaFontaine, this makes no sense. I accepted the whole mediator thing but Laura _cannot_ time travel, I won’t stand for such silliness,” the shrill sound of Perry’s voice captured Laura’s attention, she blinked her eyes open. She was lying on her bed.

“Per, the evidence is right in the other room, you’ve seen for yourself,” LaFontaine replied. Laura wondered what they could possibly be arguing about now, right outside her bedroom too.

She sucked in deep breath, stretching her stiff body, her leg knocked into someone lying next to her. She glanced to the side.

Carmilla?

She sat up so quick, she wobbled as a wave of dizziness passed through her and almost fell straight back down, she blinked and leaned over.

“Carm…” Laura shook her shoulder.

“Carmilla,” she said a little louder, she was beginning to recall what she’d done, she started to panic.

“Carmilla!” Laura yelled.

Nothing... 

The door banged open as Fontaine came hurdling into the room, “Laura, are you okay?” They asked with some urgency. 

Laura just stared down at Carmilla, horrified, she looked dead…? 

“What’s…” She couldn’t find the strength to finish the sentence.

“Laura, what happened?” LaFontaine asked, taking the desk chair.

“Ell, it was _Ell_ but she- she didn’t- I _saved her_ ,” she stared at Carmilla.

“What’s wrong with her, LaFontaine?” Laura looked to them.

They looked grim, “It’s like… she's there . . . but she's not." LaFontaine shook their head as they struggled to explain.

“What does that mean? She’s not- _She’s not dead?_ ” Laura asked wide eyed, she began to shake, her heart was beating out of the chest and she was struggling to take a deep enough breath.

LaF sighed and rubbed the back of their neck anxiously before they spoke, "I think… maybe you screwed up, L. You weren't - you weren't supposed to bring her back here… she doesn’t _belong_." 

Laura turned to stared at Carmilla’s lifeless form, she could easily enough have just been asleep but she was still… too still.

“She can live only in her time, she doesn’t have the gift like you,” they said sadly.

 Laura hands shook as she reached out, the fingers touched Carmilla’s cheek, she was cold.

“She has a _very_ faint and slow heartbeat, she is sorta breathing but it’s incredibly shallow and it’s all slowing down. It’s almost like a coma… like sleeping beauty, only this time true loves kiss isn’t the answer. At this rate, it’ll only be few hours.” LaFontaine spoke slowly.

“How long was I asleep?” Laura pushed her legs over the side of the bed.

“Couple of hours at the most,” LaF responded, desolately.

“Okay,” Laura tried to formulate a plan, “I’ll take her back! No problem! I have the photograph, I’ll go back with her and she’ll be fine, right?” Laura scrambled towards the window seat, pulled it open hurriedly and grabbed the jewellery box.

She was unlocking it when LaF spoke again, “Laura, I’m sorry but you can’t go back…”

“What?” Laura snapped, turning to look at them, her hand was shaking so much she couldn’t get the key in the lock. 

Laf was holding the book, the Book of The Dead.

 “You can’t go back through your own timeline, you’ve already been there once…” LaFontaine shook their head.

“What? I didn’t know that, _you never told me that_!” Laura yelled, distraught.

 “I’m sorry, Laura! I don’t think it would help Carmilla if you could, you’d never be able to return to her to the exact moment she disappeared, she’s all sort of… out of sync now… she doesn’t fit anywhere,” LaF’s eyes landed on Carmilla with a sorrowful expression.

Laura finally got the key into the lock and opened the box, the photo of a smiling Laura with Carmilla kissing her cheek lay within. She held the photograph in her shaking hand, she’d give anything to be able to be back in that moment again.

“I can’t go back?” Laura said with difficulty, she could feel the sting of tears.

 “According to the book, you can’t disrupt your own timeline, you were already there once, you won’t be able to go back to that night again.”

Laura noticed then a small badly filled in dent in the wall next to the window, a bullet hole. She reached out and traced he finger over it, that hadn’t been there before.

"Hospital! We can take her to a hospital!" she raked her hair away from her face.

LaF stared at the her as if she was missing the obvious, "I'm almost certain there's no medical reason for the state she's in... besides, L, what about when they start asking questions? It's too risky."

 “But what am I meant to do?!” Laura cried, this was becoming too much, the tears flowed now, she sat down on the bed next to Carmilla.

“I’m not sure, L… maybe- maybe Carmilla was always meant to die…” they spoke hurriedly as if they feared repercussions for what they were to say.

“ _What?_ I can’t believe that, why was she here? Stuck here the apartment if there wasn’t something _I_ could do?” Laura cried.

 She turned to Carmilla’s body, “I couldn’t do it! I couldn’t save you! It was my fault, this is all _all my fault_!” She rested her forehead on Carmilla’s chest and she sobbed.

Perry entered the room and gave Laura’s shoulder a reassuring sort of pat as she bawled.

 “I’m so sorry, Laura, Dear… how awful this must be for you.” She said, uncomfortably.

After a moment, she moved across the room to stand next to LaF. 

“LaF,” Laura wiped her tears on the sleeve of her sweater, “There’s got to be something, something in the book, _anything_?” She asked desperately. 

LaFontaine chewed their lip unhappily and shook their head, “There’s nothing… I didn’t even think this was possible… I don’t- I don’t think anything like this has ever happened before.”

“The paper! The newspaper!” She scrambled to the desk hastily, knocking a cup off onto the floor with a clatter as rummaged for the cuttings on the mess covering her desk. 

“ _What the- These are blank!_ How? What- what’s going on!?” Laura rasped.

“There’s something!” Laf pointed, Laura looked back down at the clipping and caught a glimpse of a headline.

_Karnstein Disappearance Remains Unsolved._

She disappeared...?

“It’s... gone, LaF!” Laura showed the paper which was blank once more.

“I think time is trying to correct itself or something like that but it can’t because... Carmilla...” LaF looked like they were thinking hard, they glanced over at Carmilla.

Words appeared on the page again, _Karnstein Mystery Murder Remains Unsolved_. 

It disappeared just as quick.

Two different headlines, two different stories…

“What have I done?! What have I done?! I’ve messed everything up! Carmilla, she’s gone! _She’s gone forever_!” Laura started to feel nauseous.

 “Carm,” Laura tried one last ditch effort, throwing herself on the bed and grabbing Carmilla’s shoulders, frantically. “Carm! Carrrrmmm!”

“Laura, stop...” LaF pulled at her shoulders and Laura pushed them away. She tried again but LaF got a firm grip on Laura’s arms, pulling her away. She struggled in their grasp, fighting them.

“ _Stop, Laura, there’s nothing you can do! SHE’S GONE!”_ There shout echoed around the room as silence fell and Laura sagged in their arms as the words repeated over and over in her mind. 

She’s gone… 

“Wait, wait!” Laura scrambled to her feet, “You guys remember! You remember Carmilla, _my_ Carmilla,” Laura stared at LaF and Perry.

LaF nodded, "Yes but I can only assume that's because we're involved... do you remember what I said about being at the eye of the storm? Well, I'm guessing we're stuck in this with you, you've messed with time, everything that happened... well it still happened but now Carmilla is all out of sync... it's like an uncertainty, time can't fix itself.. so it's stuck in this... disorder until we fix it." LaF sucked in a breath as they finished.

"But how? We can't put Carm back, you already said that!"

LaF stared down at the ground for a moment and then shrugged.

God, she wished so much that her Carmilla was here right now.

Perry suddenly spoke up, "Pardon the interruption but if everything that happened... _still happened_... then wouldn't that mean..."

“Hey, Cupcake, looks like- _Woah, what’s going on_?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I was listening to The Smiths while I wrote this, hence name of the chap.


	16. Back To Life

Laura spun around, expecting to see Carmilla awake but she lay unmoving on the bed.

She became aware of someone standing next to her, that someone was glowing. Carmilla was stood before her, looking as she always did, except she looked at Laura rather concerned, “What’s going on? Are you okay?” She brought her hands up to wipe away the tears gently from Laura’s face.

“Carm! Oh my god, Carm!” She grabbed hold of her, she was there, her Carm was really there, “You here! You’re still here!” She hugged her tightly.

Carmilla was silent… Laura realised she wasn’t hugging back quite as she would have expected.

“What did you do?” Carmilla had spotted the comatose figure on the bed and was staring down at her own body in astonishment. “How?”

LaF and Perry abruptly stood.

“Actually, this is - we’re just going to leave you… two… alone, this is a little creepy...” They gestured with a wave of their hand towards Laura and the Carmilla they weren’t able to see and headed towards the bedroom door, Laura turned back to Carmilla.

“Okay, so I did something a little _drastic_ … as you can see, I may have um… _accidently_ brought you forward in time but… good news, _I saved you_. Bad news, you can’t live in this time and you’re going to be dead in a few hours.” Laura grimaced, immediately regretting her choice of words as soon as she finished speaking.

Carmilla didn’t respond, she continued to stare down at the body.

“So, basically, I can’t send you back because you… wouldn’t _fit_ anymore, imagine it like a puzzle piece, you don’t quite _slot_ in anymore. So, you’re sort of stuck like a splinter, that time can’t pull out… get it? I think that’s what LaF said, I mean, they are so much better at explaining this sciencey stuff than I am. Should I go get them?” Laura rambled, Carmilla’s continued silence was making her more uneasy.

“You brought me back?” Was all Carmilla said. She moved away from Laura, walking to the end of the bed.

“How am I still here?” Carmilla asked, patting herself as if she expected her limbs to start disappearing one by one.

“LaF explained that one too. Um… something about time _again_ … everything that happened, still happened because time can’t fix… _you_.” Laura nodded, happy with her explanation.

“That’s me,” Carmilla stared at the body examining it as if it was some kind of alien creature.

She walked around the bed and leaned down looking closely at her own face.

“Wow...” 

“Carm, I know I’ve really messed things up… like no going back amounts of messed up, the book… it said I can’t … But maybe, you can stay… I hope you can stay,” Laura finished her sentence in a whisper.

Carmilla didn’t even acknowledge she had heard Laura speak, she was too preoccupied staring at her lifeless body. 

“This is me…” She stated quietly again.

“Yep, it’s you but you’re all empty inside. I guess this means, you have to die for things to… _revert_ back? … maybe, LaF said it wouldn’t be very long until…” Laura wrung her hands together.

Carmilla reached her hand out slowly towards her body and very carefully placed a hand to her cheek.

It all happened in the blink of an eye, one moment her Carmilla was there and then she was gone…

It took Laura a second or two to process this, she thought maybe Carmilla had just disappeared like she always did but, why would she? At a time like this?

“Carm?” Laura said, hopefully, not letting herself think the worst had actually happened.

Silence.

“Carmilla?!” Laura’s panic began to spike once more.

“Carmilla!? Oh, Carm…not you as well! Carmilla!” The tears started again, “No, No, No, I’ve ruined everything!”

Laura sank to her knees, a horrid nauseous feeling made her want to curl in on herself. She couldn’t handle this… not anymore. Carmilla was gone, time must be fixing itself, wiping her Carmilla from existence. This pain was too much, not only was she losing one Carmilla but now the other was gone for good. 

“I’ve ruined everything…” Laura moaned through her extreme crying, as she curled up into a ball on the floor.

She allowed the pain to fill her up, giving up…

Someone spoke and Laura tried to speak through her agony, “Guys, I can’t- Leave me alone, _please_.”

Why didn’t she appreciate Carmilla more? Tell her she loved her one more time? Why did she have to ruin things because she wanted more than she could have?

“Laura?”

“Go away!”

Wait, that didn’t sound like LaF or Perry…

She paused, holding her breath, not moving from her position on the floor.

“Laura?”

“Carm!?” Laura shot up from the floor, trying to clear her blurry vision, where was she? Where was Carm?

“Carmilla?” Had she lost her mind, was she hearing things?

“Laura,” the sound was coming from… the bed.

Laura looked down at Carmilla’s body.

Carmilla slowly blinked her eyes open.

“Carm! CARM!” Laura shouted, running around the bed to her side.

Carmilla squeezed her eyes shut for a second and turned her head towards Laura.

“Is it you? Carm?” Laura reached for her hand, she was no longer cold.

“Well that was a kick,” She slowly sat up and looked down at her own body.

Carmilla was alive!

Laura was shaking, this was surely some kind of miracle.

“...I’m me...” Carmilla whispered in wonder.

“You’re you,” Laura nodded with a smile, tears still falling.

“I’m me,” She said again, looking down at herself and then across at Laura with wide eyes.

“You saved me...” She smiled.

“I didn’t, I don’t know… you’re alive! You’re really alive!” Laura wanted to pinch herself, worried for a moment that she’d fallen asleep again but she didn’t want to let go of Carmilla’s hand.

Carmilla drew some breaths and placed a hand over her heart to feeling it beating.

“I’m alive,” she confirmed.

Laura hugged Carmilla tightly to her, crying happy tears into her shoulder.

“I remember... _I remember it all_ ,” Carmilla whispered into her hair.

“Ell, it was Ell... I remember. You visited me and... we- we danced?” Carmilla laughed. “I remember _everything_ …”

“You’re actually alive?” Laura pulled away and looked closely at Carmilla, letting her fingers slip into her hair.

She nodded and Laura let her forehead rest against Carmilla’s.

 “Looks like you did it, Cupcake,” Carmilla whispered before leaning in for a much-needed kiss. 

*

 “Wait- Wait… Explain it again.” LaFontaine frowned, looking between the two of them. 

They both sat on the edge of the bed, arms wrapped around one another, Laura was having a hard time leaving Carmilla’s side, even for a second, scared she might disappear or drop dead.

“It’s like I told you… she touched the body and then she was suddenly gone.” Laura shrugged.

 Carmilla nodded, “It was strange… one moment I was looking down at myself and then I felt a pull and I couldn’t resist it or stop it and then next thing I know, I’m staring at the ceiling.” She looked up and then across at Laura, leaning in and kissing her cheek.

“So, which Carmilla are you?” LaF squinted at Carmilla like a science experiment.

“Both, she’s both Carmilla’s,” Laura smiled.

“You retain memories from both Carmilla’s?” LaF questioned.

Carmilla nodded, squeezing Laura’s hand.

“And… back in the past… what happened?” LaF scratched the side of their head.

Laura got up, wandered over to her desk, the article were now stagnant, it read…

_Karnstein Mystery Remains Unsolved_

_Carmilla Karnstein, 24, disappeared from her apartment on the night of May 18 th shortly after reports of gun fire in the building…_

“Official story, she went missing…” Laura said as she glanced around at the crumpled paper on her desk.

“How do I remember? How does Perry remember?” LaF asked, walking around the bed to the desk. 

“Well… everything still happened in a way… like you said, I guess, stuck at the eye of the storm.” Laura shrugged, turning to return to Carmilla’s side.

Laura didn’t care, she had Carmilla back and that’s all that mattered. She’d learnt her lesson from all of this, she wasn’t planning any more trips to the past any time soon. She wanted a nice simple life, helping ghosts in need and exorcizing the troublesome ones.

“You know, a little perspective always helps,” Laura smiled, “When I moved to Styria, I never wanted to help another ghost as long as I lived but now, as long as I _never_ have to go through _that_ again… I’m happy to help.” Carmilla leaned forward and placed a kiss to the side of her head.

“I knew you’d come around,” she murmured.

Laura turned her head kissing her, sighing against Carmilla’s mouth.

“I’ll… just go,” LaF said to deaf ears, closing the door behind them.

Carmilla’s hands tangled themselves in Laura’s hair as she pushed forward with a groan, Laura found herself flat on her back.

“I love you,” Carmilla whispered hotly into her ear as she nipped along her jaw.

Laura shuddered, she didn’t think she’d ever get used to this. Carmilla was alive and warm and soft under her fingertips. Laura’s hands dipped under the fabric of Carmilla’s shirt and up her back.

“I love you too,” she whispered in return as Carmilla pulled her shirt off and her lips returned to her mouth.

Laura’s hand came up to Carmilla’s chest feeling her thumping heartbeat.

Carmilla groaned when Laura flipped them over after she slipped off Carmilla’s bra. She watched as her pale skin prickled under her finger tips from the immediate chill and glistened once Laura’s warm tongue ran over her skin. She was so alive, so tangible, she shivered as Laura’s hands and mouth explored her body. Laura smiled as she kissed up Carmilla’s chest, this was nothing short of a miracle.

Carmilla’s hips ground up against her as she bit down on her nipple and she gasped. “… Just making sure this wasn’t all a dream,” Laura whispered, her lips returning to Carmilla’s, they kissed almost ravenously.

Carmilla moaned against her mouth and Laura thought it was the most beautiful sound she’d ever heard.

She slowly pulled at the button on Carmilla’s dark jeans, Carmilla dislodged her hands from Laura’s hair to help.

“It will be nice to wear something different for a change,” Carmilla mumbled, offhandedly.

 “I certainly can’t wait…” Laura replied, sucking on the skin of Carmilla’s throat.

Carmilla pulled at the hem of her sweater and Laura quickly slipped it over her head not wanting to separate her lips from Carmilla’s skin for too long.

 She kissed down Carmilla’s stomach and then looked up at her, her hair a wonderful mess and her cheeks tinted pink, _so alive_.

“It’s gone, Carm…” Laura murmured.

Carmilla’s eyes opened and she chewed at her lip as her eyes met Laura’s.

“Your scar… it’s not there.” Laura kissed the place where the bullet wound used to be.

“Hmm,” Carmilla moaned, Laura wondered if she’d even listened to what she said.

She kissed her again, missing Carmilla’s lips, pulling Carmilla’s underwear down her legs as far as she could reach, Carmilla did the rest for her.

Her hips rocked against Laura’s thigh and she drew her hand teasingly slow down her chest, along her waist, rubbing at her hip bones, Carmilla groaned impatiently and then her hand slipped down between her legs. 

Laura lay some kisses to Carmilla’s chest, sucking at the skin there, Carmilla moaned her name and something that sounded suspiciously like, _more_.

Carmilla looked heavenly with her head thrown back, her neck exposed as Laura sliped a finger into her and then another.

Hands were suddenly tugging at her hair, pulling her closer, kissing her greedily and Laura moaned. Carmilla sucked in some deep breaths against her mouth as she rocked her hips against Laura’s hand.

She tucked her face into Laura’s shoulder, the hot breath on her neck made her shiver.

“God,” Laura whimpered.

Carmilla rocked her hips a little harder and Laura worked hers fingers a little harsher."

“Laura…” Laura wasn’t sure she’d ever heard anyone moan her name like that before, and she knew Carmilla was the only one who could do it justice now.

She sucked in a breath, trembling, moaning Laura’s name one more time. 

*

 Laura hugged Carmilla close, her heart still beating a mile a minute. She still couldn’t quite believe how things had worked out so perfectly. She stroked Carmilla’s collarbone with her finger as she thought.

“There’s still something we missed…” Laura murmured.

“Hmm?” Carmilla stroked Laura’s hair contently.

“Ell… How did she escape?” Laura frowned. “How did she get away without being seen? She had an alibi too? How did she do it?”

“I think I might have figured that one out,” Carmilla spoke up, more awake now but still lying quite still.

“How? I mean she just disappeared.” Laura raised her head to look at Carmilla.

“So did you…” Carmilla responded.

“Yes, but I’m a mediator, a shifter... I can…” Laura paused and Carmilla half smiled, her eyebrows rose.

“You mean… was she- Was she like _me_?” Laura stared at Carmilla but she no longer seeing, she was deep in thought.

“I think so… it would explain her weird behaviour, talking to herself for one. She probably wasn’t talking to _herself_ … but... I think it drove her a little mad in the end. I remember her telling me she wanted a normal life, in fact she was obsessed with the idea of a normal life, just like you were when you arrived in Styria. I didn’t know at the time, of course… what she meant by that but I think she was looking for that normal life with _me_ and I think I broke her, Laura… I think I was the one the who did it...” Carmilla stared at the ceiling as she spoke. “My fault…”

Laura frowned, “Carm-” 

“Do you remember what she said that night… that we could be together, that if she _killed_ me, we could be together _forever_ … I think she meant for me to become a ghost… that way I would have her and only her. Except…” Carmilla gave a little shrug, “She mustn’t have come back to find out, too risky maybe or maybe she regretted it, I don’t know. We’ll never know now.”

Laura wasn’t sure how to respond, it made sense, it all made sense.

“Carm, if that’s true, you can’t blame yourself, you didn’t know, you had _no_ idea.”

Carmilla took a deep breath and hugged Laura closer, “I know, Cupcake.” 

*

Three Weeks Later…

 

“So, hang on, they _were_ dead the whole time?” Carmilla asked, grabbing the remote to turn off the tv with a frown.

“No, did you watch any of that?” Laura laughed around a mouthful of pancake. “Jack died on the island but lots of them went on to live long and happy lives. They all met up in the afterlife but they _definitely_ were not dead the whole time.”

Carmilla looked thoughtful, “I’m not sure what to think of that ending… I mean why didn’t Ben-”

She paused, there was a light knocking on the door.

“I’ll go…” Carmilla smirked at Laura who had half a pancake hanging from her mouth.

The door knocked again. 

“Yeah, hold on a sec,” Carmilla yelled, annoyed at the persistent knocker. 

She glanced back at Laura, “Don’t choke on it,” she chuckled. 

“Yeah, what?” Carmilla said as she opened the door.

A silent moment passed as Carmilla stared at the visitor and then she took an abrupt step away from the door.

“ _Fuck_ …”

“Do you know how long it took me to find you…” 

Laura looked up from her plate, to see Ell staring right at her with a gun pointed at Carmilla.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've added yet another chapter as I love a cliffhanger.


	17. I Bet You Thought You'd Seen The Last of Me

“Do you know how long it took me to find you… And here you were, living in the apartment all this time.”

“Ell-” Carmilla started to speak.

Laura stood slowly, making her way towards them. A sinking feeling, her heart was beating hard.

“You’re like me, I saw you… shifting back. How’d you do it? Carmilla isn’t like us, she can’t shift.” Ell stared at Laura. 

She didn’t respond, she was at a loss for words, a cold feeling trickled down her spine.

“That’s when I knew, you know. That you were like me… so... I assumed you were from the future but I couldn’t find you, until… _you_.” She looked at Carmilla.

“Carmilla Karnstein mysteriously appearing again out of the blue, a miracle, really? and here you are…” She glanced around the apartment briefly. 

“Why are you here now? What’s stopping you from just going back and killing me?” Carmilla found her voice.

“I can’t, unfortunately, mess with my own timeline. And of course, I couldn’t find you, I didn’t know who you were, what time you were from.” She looked at Laura with a look of disgust. “So, all I could do was wait. We can’t travel to the future of course and how far into the future you were from I had no idea but I was a patient girl...” 

She aimed the gun at Laura.

“ _Ell_ , you don’t-“ Carmilla began, taking a step closer to Laura.

“This is perfect.... because I can kill the both of you and disappear. No one will know it was me...”

She giggled, “I can hide in the past, the perfect hiding place...” She said, blissfully.

“So, tell me... how’d you do it? Carmilla, you don’t have the gift...”

“I changed things, Carmilla died back in 2010... but I messed things up... Carmilla’s soul lingered in the apartment...” Laura started to talk, the more she talked, the longer they had.

Ell’s mouth dropped open a little.

“And, I wasn’t meant to bring Carm back but luckily she sort of… snapped back into her body.” 

Ell scowled at Carmilla, she held the gun tighter in her grasp. “All this time.... you were here all the time...”

“Exactly what you wanted wasn’t it?” Carmilla smirked and Ell took a step closer.

Laura frowned at Carmilla. Why was she provoking her? 

She pointed the gun at Carmilla, her eyes furious, she took a deep breath.

 “ _Wait wait_ \- I know what’s it’s like! I know what you went through... what you’re _going_ through! You just wanted a nice normal life but it never ends and it drives you mad! But- but it doesn’t have to end _like this_!” Laura begged.

 Carmilla grabbed Laura’s wrist as she took a step closer to Ell and pulled her away. Ell’s eyes dropped down to Carmilla’s hand and back up, she’d made her decision.

The gun was aimed at Laura as she squeezed the trigger. Carmilla pulled Laura harshly away, Laura lost her footing.

Then she couldn’t breathe all of a sudden, she couldn’t suck in a single breathe, pain, she felt pain, ringing in her ears, she couldn’t feel Carmilla’s grip on her arm anymore.

She could hear a commotion but she couldn’t see it, she tried to get up but pain radiated through her chest and shoulder, she felt the trickle of blood as it began to tickle her neck.

“NO!” A voice yelled. “CARMILLA, DON’T!”

 A moment of silence followed and then Carmilla was hovering over her. Laura wasn’t sure what was happening.

“Laura?! Laura, are you okay? Can you hear me?!” She disappeared and reappeared after a moment. A cloth was placed over her wound.

“Carm... if I die, I’m going to haunt your ass, for sure,” she struggled to speak through the pain.

Carmilla smiled sadly, “Cupcake, you aren’t going to die.”

 “Where is she?” Laura moaned, she tried to sit up.

Carmilla pushed her back down.

“LaF, search her, take anything she might have, we can’t let her escape,” Carmilla said.

“LaF?” Laura mumbled. “LaF’s here? What’s going on?”

“LaF might have just saved our lives,” Carmilla smiled down at her for a moment and then back across the room, mumbling something else to LaF as she kept her hand on Laura’s injury.

“What?... How?” Laura struggled.

“Some luck I’ll say.” Carmilla answered.

 LaF appeared, a phone to their ear, “Guess I caused something of a distraction when I came home...” they shrugged. “They’re on the way,” LaF added.

“I should kill her,” Carmilla said angrily looking over her shoulder. 

LaF placed their hand over the receiver on their phone, “And have her haunting the apartment? No, thank you!”

Laura smiled, “Well, they have a point... Where is she? Don’t let her...” Laura mumbled.

“She’s not going anywhere, stay still,” Carmilla stroked her hair with her free hand. “Do you feel okay?”

Laura frowned, “Not really…”

Carmilla placed a kiss on her forehead. 

“We’re safe now.” 

*

 Laura sat up in her hospital bed, her arm slung up against her. She was going to be fine, she’d been lucky. Carmilla sat next to her, holding her free hand while LaF spoke quite animatedly from the bottom of the bed.

“...I mean, the door sort of hit her in the back of the head and she was a little startled, at that point you’d already been shot. Carmilla made a grab for her arm, I managed to get a hold of her wrist. Carmilla hit her around the head with the gun… a few times and rest is history.”

“Still think I should have killed her,” Carmilla muttered.

“Carm, I’m the one who’d have to deal with her in the afterlife…” Laura groaned. 

“I’m sure you would have enjoyed exorcizing her,” Carmilla said, kissing her hand. 

Laura laughed, shaking her head.

 “You don’t think she’ll escape do you?” 

“How can she?” LaF shrugged, “She needs a constant, an old object to time travel, she won’t have any of those where she’s going.”

Laura chewed her lip, “I’m not sure guys… Do you really think we’ve seen the last of her?”

 “I hope so…” Carmilla scowled, giving her hand a squeeze. “Laura… promise me no more time travel for a while.”

Laura grinned at her, “Why would I? I have you right here, Carm, I have no reason to go back.”


	18. Epilogue

3 years later

“If I have to watch one more episode of Doctor Who…” Carmilla huffed, letting her head drop onto the back of the couch.

 “What? What will you do?” Laura countered with a smile, shuffling her legs around on Carmilla’s lap.

“Laura, can you travel back in time and warn me about marrying you?” Carmilla smirked.

“No, I can’t travel back through my own timeline… unfortunately,” Laura replied, shaking her head, trying to hold back a smile.

Carmilla tapped Laura’s legs so she could stand up, “Fine, more cocoa?” She asked, reaching for Laura’s cup.

“Yes, please.” Laura smiled.

Carmilla leaned over, offering Laura a kiss.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you too,” Laura sighed.

“Don’t forget the little marshmallows this time,” Laura said as Carmilla turned for the kitchen.

“Here’s your little marshmallows,” Carmilla said, leaping over the couch and straddling Laura’s legs, proceeding to tickle her all over.

“Carm! Stop, don’t,” Laura wheezed in between giggles.

Carmilla leaned down to place another kiss to her lips and then stood.

When Carmilla returned, Laura couldn’t see the cocoa for the number of marshmallows Carmilla had piled into the drink, some falling off onto the table as she placed the cup down.

Laura rolled her eyes. “Really, Carm...?”

 “My hand slipped.” Carmilla chuckled.

She sat down, Laura placed her legs back over Carmilla’s.

“No more Who,” Carmilla groaned, when Laura stretched her hand for the remote.

“Shh, don’t pretend you’re not invested,” Laura rolled her eyes.

“Yeah sure, I was mildly interested... the _first time_ we watched it!” Carmilla huffed.

“There’s still a _tonne_ of episodes you haven’t even seen,” Laura replied, “Did you know there’s 97 episodes of Doctor Who that are actually missing?! From way back in like 1967!”

“I’m not watching any of those,” Carmilla interrupted quickly.

“Well, you can’t unless you- _wait a second_ …” Laura smiled mischievously, her eyes widening.

“Don’t even _think_ about it, Cupcake,” Carmilla said seriously and Laura let out a sigh. 

And then she smiled, picking some of the marshmallows from the pile and throwing one at Carmilla.

She picked it off of Laura’s leg to eat it. 

“Try and catch one in your mouth,” Laura smiled, taking aim.

Carmilla stared at her for a moment and then unenthusiastically opened her mouth an inch.

A marshmallow hit her cheek and then her nose.

Carmilla threw one back with a smile.

“Did you help that old guy with the wedding ring?” Carmilla asked, referring to a ghost Laura had been trying to assist.

“Yeah, his widowed wife gave me cake,” Laura beamed.

 “…Stop excepting cake from people you don’t know,” Carmilla smiled, “How many this week?”

“Not that many, Carm, I think we’ve pretty much helped all of the ghosts in Styria.” Laura said proudly.

“Good, I’m happy for you, Cupcake,” Carmilla smiled, throwing another marshmallow at her.

“How was work today? Did you take that _perfect_ _photograph_ yet?” Laura asked, playing with the fingers on Carmilla’s hand.

Carmilla grumbled, “I’m a _baby_ photographer, it’s not exactly Nat Geo. It’s all crying and puking and you know how I feel about crying and puking.”

“Well, you took my favourite photograph if it’s any consolation,” Laura shrugged.

 “You say that at least once a week,” Carmilla replied.

“Well, it’s true.” Laura smiled, she stood, moving across the room to the bookcase where she reached for the small photo of them both that Carmilla had taken back in 2010, on the day she survived. “I love this photo, it’s the first photograph we ever took together.”

Carmilla nodded with a smile.

“Carm, do you know what tomorrow is?” Laura asked, skipping back across the room happily to sit down next to Carmilla, tapping her thigh excitedly.

Carmilla’s eyebrows drew together, “Oh, god, it’s not the start of another new season of some dreadful show, is it?”

“No,” Laura smiled, “It’s your 3 year re-birthday!” She clapped her hands, elatedly. “3 years since you… didn’t die.”

“Ooh, tell me this is the same as my real birthday and that there are treats and such.” Carmilla gazed at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Mayyyybe,” Laura said playfully, twirling a piece of Carmilla’s hair around her finger.

“I like the sound of this re-birthday,” Carmilla said, leaning closer.

Laura grinned and brought her hand to Carmilla’s cheek, pulling her in for a kiss. They separated after a moment and gazed at each other. 

“So… these treats you speak off...” Carmilla murmured, letting her fingers glide along Laura’s jawline. 

“One more episode of Who,” Laura said suddenly, grabbing the remote. 

“No! But it’s almost my re-birthday!” Carmilla groaned.

“I didn’t say the treats were for you, Carm,” Laura replied teasingly, throwing another marshmallow at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for everyone who took the time to read, comment and leave kudos on this fic. It was really enjoyable to write this and it was nice to know others had fun reading it.
> 
> As I said in the description, Meg Cabot's Meditator series is where I got some of the ideas and concepts for this fic. Those books were some of my favourites to read when I was younger and this fit would not exist without those books!


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